hack CHECK
by Dash-X
Summary: ...It can bring salvation or destruction... Has a few errors... Feel free to R&R!
1. Mark

**Quick Disclaimer: I do not own ".hack", but I do own the characters in this story. Other things that aren't mine: musical references... That's about it.**

**Thank you, and please review it if you feel like doing so...**

Chapter 1 Mark

The sand swirled with great ferocity as the sun peeked over the western dunes. Next to the Spring of Myst, three figures stood.

"Oh man, this is boring...", remarked Stan as he stared through his binoculars. Stan was a short, thin, fair Long Arm wearing an unfastened tan vest and deep green cargo pants. His auburn hair blew in the wind while his blue eyes scanned the horizon through the device he held in his gloved hands. "This sucks..." Stan sat and continued to look through the binoculars.

"If you're bored, I guess we can talk...", said Deacon as he leaned on his sword. Deacon, a Heavy Blade, was a tall man with a medium build, and lightly tanned. He wore what looked like gray "Samurai-ish" garb except he wore a shoulder pad on his right shoulder, and his right sleeve was seemingly missing. Above Deacon's left eye, partially obscured by his blonde hair, was a scar. "I'm pretty curious as to how you got banninated."

"Wait a sec. Stan got banned?", inquired Naomi. Naomi was a Twin Blade of an average height with a thin build. She wore a black leotard with baggy blue shorts that were kept hanging at her hip by a thick leather belt as well as gloves that covered most of her forearms and thick aviator goggles on her forehead. Naomi had caramel-colored skin and long, black hair tied behind her head.

"Yeah." said Stan, "Stupid GM's... What do we even have an 'F' word for if we can't use it? Why do they have to be such a #—..."

"Uh, on a different subject," interjected Deacon, "I'm glad to see you finally got World III, Naomi. It's a heck of a lot better than the last one. Though, I'm kinda surprised that you payed the extra fifteen smackers to transfer your character to this version."

"I'm not.", said Stan, still staring through the binoculars. "Remember the hell she went through to clear that goggle event? You think she'd wanna lose those?"

"Yeah... I guess you're right..." commented Deacon.

"Hey, Deac, just what's so different about World III?" asked Naomi.

"What isn't so different?" remarked Deacon, "It's almost like they gave the World a major overhaul. In addition to a greater frequency of events, they also included a few new weather conditions. See the blowing sand?"

"Yeah."

"You wouldn't have seen that in the old one. Also, due to somewhat popular demand, they've gotten rid of every single Noble Grunty."

"How'd they get away with that?"

"The Grunty Plague. They said it killed off the Noble Grunties... No one complained..."

"Wow..."

"They also made Speed Charms an ordinary item. So you don't have to wait for that stupid animation to use another one. And, Long Arms kinda got nerfed with the addition of the new classes..."

"Whoop! There's our mark!", exclaimed Stan. He stood up. "What are we looking at, Stan?", asked Deacon. "Okay. We got three targets.", continued Stan, "We got a Twin Blade, Wave Master, and a Heavy Blade." "What kinda toys they got?", asked Deacon. " The TB has a pair of level forty-two daggers, the WM has a level forty-five wand... looks like it could be used for summoning... The HB has some kinda... big-ass sword...", replied Stan.

"What?"

"I've never seen anything like it. It's not on any guide or database I've seen... None of the events so far have offered weaps, right?"

"Not to my recollection. These guys are not newbies...", said Deacon.

"... Just like the board said...", commented Naomi.

"Whoa! Just what was that?!" exclaimed Stan. "What?", replied Deacon. "Something on the HB flashed! It was on his arm..." "Let me see...", said Deacon as Stan handed him the binoculars. ". . . I don't see anything. See?.", Deacon handed the binoculars back to Stan. Stan checked again. "You're right. There's nothing there. Must've been a glitch...", remarked Stan, "The targets are going into the dungeon."

"All right!" yelled Deacon, "Time to rock! Speed Charms, everyone." The three used speed charms. "And, a little music..." Just then, swing music began to sound from Deacon's person.

"Dang it, Deac, turn your stereo down.", complained Stan, "Just what is it with you and that old-time music? It's blasting into your freakin' microphone, man!"

"I dunno. I kinda like the music." , said Naomi, "But, you shouldn't blast it. You could ruin your hearing."

The three began to move towards the dungeon. "Hmph. You guys just don't know. Swing is the kind of music that must be listened to loudly. If you don't, you miss part of the song.", said Deacon.

"Hey, Deac, how many floors is this dungeon?", asked Naomi.

"Only two.", answered Deacon.

"So, this is gonna be a short op, huh?", asked Naomi.

"HEY! We even got a plan?", asked Stan.

"Yeah. 'Plan A': 'Don't do anything stupid'.", replied Deacon.

"Good enough.", said Stan.

They sped into the dungeon.


	2. Swing

Chapter 2 Swing

The dungeon interior had bluestone walls with small torches mounted to the wall providing little luminescence.

"Okay. We don't really know what were up against here, so Stan, you're on 'bloods detail'.", ordered Deacon.

"Already on it, Deac.", replied Stan as he began using various bloods on his teammates.

"Fairy's Orb's finished scanning...", said Naomi, "Looks like you were right, Deac, two floors. How'd you know?"

Deacon began to move forward. "Easy," he said, "I took a look at the Area Information. That was another feature they've improved for this version of the game. Instead of that confusing-as-hell gem system they used in versions I and II, the Chaos Gates just tell you what you're in for. Everything from weather to monster strength is displayed during the loading screen."

Before they could enter the first room of the dungeon, yellow letters appeared and flashed in front of them: All Dungeon Portals Open.

"Damn. That was quick." remarked Stan. "What is this, a level seventy dungeon...? We just wiped our feet, and all of the monsters are gone."

They stepped into the first room. Same decor, but treasure chests were scattered throughout. "Hey!", exclaimed Naomi, "There's a ton of treasure here. Looks like all of it is safe –." She started towards a chest.

"STOP!" yelled Deacon "Look closely." He pointed to the side of one of the chests. On it was a small exclamation mark surrounded by a small yellow triangle. "Well, geez.", remarked Naomi, "That's not so obvious. What happened to the blue chests?" "Another change. They decided that since no one was falling for the traps, they'd make them more difficult to detect.", explained Deacon as he used a Fortune Wire to disarm the trap. "It wouldn't be such a problem if they hadn't raised the price of Fortune Wire." Naomi quickly pulled the treasure from the chest and stashed it into her inventory.

"They've got to be close to the Gott Statue by now.", said Stan, "If we don't hurry, we'll miss our chance."

"The stairs are that way.", said Deacon as he pointed to the door on the far wall. "Let's move!"

Within moments the three had arrived in the Gott Statue room. To their surprise, the other party was still there. Though, the chest had been opened. The figure holding the huge sword reached into his pocket and retrieved a Sprite Ocarina.

"Drop it.", said Stan as he readied his spear. He looked as though he was going to throw it.

"Turn around, you.", ordered Deacon.

The man dropped the Ocarina, and turned around. He wore red "Samurai-like" clothes with a strange pattern embroidered in orange on them. His pale complexion, tall, thin build, white hair and shifty-looking, gray eyes certainly didn't make him look like a pleasant fellow. The sword he carried was a little wider than his torso with a green jewel on the ornate handle. The decoration on the handle looked like a dragon. "Looks like the party's over", said the man. His voice had a gruff, eerie tone. He waved his sword to the side. His other two teammates turned to face Deacon, Stan and Naomi. The Twin Blade was a female in a yellow one-piece dress with brown eyes, and blond hair. The Wave Master had red hair. She was wearing a blindfold and an ornate white dress with green detail.

"Remember," commented Deacon to Stan, "We have to get a capture of that guy logging out."

"Be careful," said Naomi, " Remember. He's PK'ed ninety-seven players in the past two weeks."

"Right.", said Stan.

The figure in red swung his blade violently in Deacon's direction, releasing a wave of energy. Deacon calmly deflected the wave with his sword. It hit the Gott Statue and sliced it in half before it hit the ground. "Hey, hey... We're not newbies, either.", explained Deacon.

"I see," said the man, "You're just Bounty PK'ers." He began to lunge towards Stan.

"Swing it!", yelled Deacon as he lunged for the Twin Blade.


	3. Ghost

Chapter 3 Ghost

Flustered, Stan threw his spear at the man in red as he advanced. The man bolted to the side so quickly that he left an after image. The spear went through the apparition and hit the Wave Master. Dead center in the chest.

She dropped her wand as her entire body began to twitch and flicker. Suddenly, she became a white wireframe that shattered like glass.

"WHAT THE #$%&!?!?", yelled Stan, "Deac, there's no ghost! Did you see that?!"

But, Deacon had his own problems. For he and the man had locked swords, and Naomi and the Twin Blade had gotten into it. "Tell me later.", shouted Naomi as she parried a thrust. "Little help, please?", said Naomi. Stan pulled another spear from his inventory and rushed to Naomi's aid.

"Hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-hi...", sang Deacon as he executed a horizontal slash that the man blocked. The man countered with a vertical slice, which Deacon dodged. "Lo-de-lo-de-lo-de-lo...", Deacon continued.

"He's started singing again.", mused Stan. Deacon was known as "Singing Deac" for his habit of singing along to whatever was playing on his stereo during battle. As a matter of fact, he had become quite famous for it. Others saw this as a sign of an overly serene mind. Deacon, on the other hand was just having fun.

"Ee-de-ee-de-ee-de-ee...", he sang. A slash. Blocked. A thrust. Dodged. "Hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-ho..." Deacon slid backwards. "Calloway was great, huh?", said Deac. He then charged the man, and hit him with an uppercut slash. The big, red numbers 1023 appeared above the man's head. "Hmph. Very good.", said the man as he executed a slash that Deacon blocked.

Naomi ducked an overhead slash from the Twin Blade. The Twin Blade announced, "Staccato.", in a monotone voice. "I practically invented Staccato," joked Naomi as she began to block every single hit. "Stan, you know what to do!", shouted Naomi. "Right!", smiled Stan. "Split Dash!", shouted Naomi as she instantly appeared behind the Twin Blade. "Phoenix Slice!", yelled Stan as he forward somersaulted in front of the Twin Blade. They both yelled,"Double Entente Blitz!"

The Twin Blade began to twitch and convulse as she too became a white wireframe, and shattered like glass. There was no ghost. "There's... There's no ghost...", said Naomi.

"I see you've defeated my puppets!", said the man. He released another destructive wave from his blade. Deacon blocked it and was forced backwards. "Now...", started the man as his blade split into two somewhat smaller blades, "I can fight with my full strength..."


	4. Death

Chapter 4 Death

"Prepare yourselves!", quipped the man. #Whoosh# He suddenly disappeared. "Huh?"said Stan. From the corner of Stan's eye, he saw something. He slowly turned his head to see the man standing right next to him. "Oh, $#–!", he exclaimed. The man calmly reconnected the two blades, and his sword was formed once again...

Deacon, Naomi, and Stan fell off of their feet as green hexagons flew off of their persons. Big, green letters appeared: PROTECT BREAK.

"Protect break?", said Deacon, "What the hell is that?" Naomi used potions on the party as they all picked themselves off of the floor.

#Whoosh#! "Crap!", yelled Deacon, "He disappeared again!" "DEACON! LOOK OUT!", screamed Naomi! It was already too late. The man had slashed deacon in the back. A big, red 2301 had appeared above Deacon's head. Deacon stumbled forwards just a little bit, but he hadn't been KO'd. Stan had used a full recovery potion on Deacon before the attack hit.

"Enough!", yelled the man in red as he extended his right hand in Deacon's direction. His wrist began to glow, "Data Drain!" "What the–?", blurted Deacon, but before he could finish his sentence, a multi-colored spiral of parallel lines shot from his arm and pierced Deacon's body. His form then pixilated and began to disintegrate into thin air. By the time his body was to hit the ground, Deacon wasn't there.

"You're next!", taunted the man while he aimed his arm at Stan. "OH $—!", shouted Stan. The spiral of lines hit him as his body began to pixilate and disintegrate.

"Good bye.", he aimed his arm at Naomi. She saw the lines approach her...

. . .

Tiffany screamed as she tossed the VR goggles across her room. She sat, breathing heavily as she stared at the screen, blankly. GAME OVER. Tiffany glanced at the goggles as they lay in the corner. Shaking, she turned off her computer, and walked out of the room. She put on her coat, and left her apartment.

. . .

10 p.m. Tiffany walked back into her apartment and placed her coat onto the rack the way she always does. She then plopped onto the couch, grabbed the remote, and turned the television on.

...

"ABC 7 News. Chicago's number 1 news."

"Good evening, I'm Trent Kengo.", said the man "Today, in Seattle, a man in his twenties was found dead in front of his computer. Investigators say that he was playing 'The World III' when he died...."

...

_Seattle?_ thought Tiffany _But, that's where Deac lives..._

_Oh my..._


	5. What

Chapter 5 What

Tiffany's heart began to pound with a rhythm so loud and violent that she thought it would fly out of her chest. She bolted to her room. The next thing she knew, she had already logged on.

. . .

Naomi gated into the root town of New Mac Anu. To her surprise, it was much bigger than the town she had known before.

"Deacon!", she called frantically as she ran through the bustling streets. "DEAC! STAN! WHERE ARE YOU!?!"

She checked her member list, but Deacon's address wasn't there, and Stan's wasn't either. "Oh, crap...", she collapsed to her knees.

#Chime, chime# YOU HAVE NEW MAIL.

"Huh?", said Naomi.

. . .

Tiffany opened the new piece of mail. It read.

"Hey, Tiff. It's me, Jack, a.k.a. Deacon.

I just figured I'd let you know that I was all right. Yeah. I heard the news on the radio. Remember that Wave Master that Stan hit? She's dead... Or, actually, I should say he's dead.

IM me when you can. We have to talk..."

. . .

SexyTiff2509: Jack! You scared me half to death! What happened?

JackSprat: After I saw the protect break, I started thinking, and remembered something. I'm just glad I was able to remove my goggles in time. That's not the worst of it though.

SexyTiff2509: Huh?

JackSprat: My character's been deleted. It's like the he never existed. But, that's not what really bugs me. That damn "Data Drain" ruined my woofers!

SexyTiff2509: You mentioned the WM?

JackSprat: Yeah. I was fixing my stereo when I heard. The guy who died was a coworker of mine. I knew he played World III, but I've never seen his avatar... he hadn't been to work in a while. You can even check the boards. His character's name was Irene. According to the post, his party hasn't been able to contact him.

SexyTiff2509: What?

JackSprat: Yeah... He's been dead for a few days now... Have you heard from Satn?

JackSprat: Stan

SexyTiff2509: No. I don't even know his e-mail address.

JackSprat: Me either... What's up with that guy? The way he keeps information, you'd think he was running from the FBI or something...

SexyTiff2509: Crap... Now I'm really worried...

SexyTiff2509: Wait. What about th TB?

JackSprat: The Twin Blade? I don't know...

SexyTiff2509: Did they mention what killed your coworker?

JackSprat: yeah. They said his brain just quit working.

SexyTiff2509: That's scary. I don't even know if I'm willing to log on again...

JackSprat: Well, you're obviously OK. . . wait. You can log on?

SexyTiff2509: Yeah. My character's still there. With the same inventory and everything.

. . .

#Chime, chime#YOU HAVE NEW MAIL

. . .

" Hey, Tiff, Jack. I heard. This is Danny.

You think it has anything to do with that guy? I'll be on the IM."

. . .

STANspark: Really, Jack? Damn...

SexyTiff2509: Stan? How did you survive?

STANspark: I got banned. AGAIN!

JackSprat: Aw, damn. I gotta break you out again?

SexyTiff2509: Huh?

JackSprat: In WIII, when a player gets banned, his avatar is sent to a prison-like dungeon...

JackSprat: In the dungeon, they can either do the time, or someone can break the character out.

JackSprat: However, if the character is only banned for a few days, it's normally recommended that you just wait it out...

JackSprat: But, if the player is anything like Stan, who gets lifetime banninates, ...

JackSprat: The only way to get the character back is to break him out of jail.

SexyTiff2509: That doesn't sound so bad...

JackSprat: It's much worse. The whole area is guarded by minefield of level 99 monsters. NO PORTALS! So you don't know where they come from. To make matters worse, there's one extra condition...

SexyTiff2509: Extra Condition?

JackSprat: Any character that dies there is banned for life.

JackSprat: Geez. It looks like I'm gonna have to spend fifteen dollars.

STANspark: Sorry. (;)

JackSprat: Regardless, this is a three-man job. We, the Groovers, will only have two...

SexyTiff2509: Uh-oh...

JackSprat: We need to call "him"...


	6. Deal

Chapter 6 Deal

Naomi stood in front of the east Chaos Gate of New Mac Anu. Suddenly, a tanned man with bleach-blonde hair wearing sunglasses and a blue "samurai-like" garb with both sleeves missing stepped through the Gate. At his hip, was a tokkuri, and on his neck hanged headphones. In his hand, was one of the few level 99 weapons of World II, The Peacemaker Mark V. His movement was graceful, but solid.

"Long time, no see, Deacon Blue.", commented Naomi.

"Glad you like it," said Deacon Blue, "my entertainment budget is blown for this month."

"Well, I guess that does it, Deac, The Groovers are practically back.", said Naomi, "If only Stan would import his character..."

"Crap... They messed up my member addresses... Hold on a sec...", said Deacon as he began to tinker with his menus.

While they stood there, other players began to crowd around.

"Is that... It's him!"

"Deacon Blue! Really?"

"He's so cool..."

"Are The Groovers coming back? I thought she looked familiar..."

"I got a job for 'em!"

"Huh?", said Deacon as he looked up from his menus. The crowd startled him. "Um... Don't you guys have things to do?", he asked. They all scattered.

"Walk and talk?", inquired Naomi. They began to walk.

"Sure.", said Deacon. "You know what? It just doesn't make sense..."

"What?"

"I lose my character, yet, your character is still here. It's weird."

"That's right. You said you remembered something after you saw 'Protect Break'. What was it?

"You ever heard of the 'dot-hackers'?"

"Yeah."

"I read somewhere that back in World I, the leader of the 'dot-hackers' had to 'Protect Break' enemies before he could 'Data Drain' them."

"'Data Drain'? I remember... It put some folks into a coma or something, right?"

"Yeah... But, how did that guy gain the ability to 'Data Drain'? Also, is he somehow killing people with it...?"

"Deac, let's just give it up."

"Huh?"

"Look. After we spring Stan from the joint, I'm leaving. You guys can sit and play, but I'm gone. It's too much, man."

"Wow... This is sudden."

"Sorry, Deac, we're talking lives here. I want to live. I suggest you do the same, and Stan, too."

"I can't do that."

"Why?"

"I just can't."

"#Sigh#, so anyway, how are we gonna pull off this job?"

"Like I said. We need to call 'him'."

"Ah, crap..."

"I don't think you get it..."

. . .

Deacon Blue and Naomi continued to stroll through the streets of New Mac Anu. Merchants shook their wares in front of passers-by as they shouted slogans that no one really cared to hear...

"So. When you were referring to 'him', it wasn't 'him', but a different 'him'?", said Naomi.

"Right.", replied Deacon Blue.

"You scared the crap out of me, for a second there..."

"Yeah. The guy we're looking for goes by the name 'Nash'."

"Nash?"

"Yep. He's an aromatic grass dealer. As well as a rare hoarder."

"What's so special about him?"

"That's right. You don't know. Back when WIII launched, a guy was banned for griefing among several other offenses. Nash and a couple of other guys, all of them level one, mind you, somehow managed to make it into the dungeon and break the guy out. Because Nash masterminded the plan, he became an instant legend."

"You were one of those guys, right?"

"How'd you know?"

"Lucky guess... Anyhow, is he that good?"

"You bet... One thing, though..."

"What?"

"Well, he's only at level 20 to 25 at the moment..."

"'That it?"

"Well... Not exactly. . ."

"Hey, what's up! Want some AG? Only 50GP a unit!", yelled a voice. Naomi looked up to see a fair woman dressed in a loose fitting pale green robe. Her long blue hair hid her forehead, and her purple eyes had an odd, piercing quality. She carried no weapon."A couple of whiffs, and you'll be hooked. Tell you what.", she said to Naomi, "Since I've never seen you before, I'll give you a discount." "Nash, it's me, Deacon.", said Deacon Blue, "We need a favor."

"This is Nash?", asked Naomi.

"Deacon?", squinted Nash. He handed Deacon his member address.

"Yeah. It's me. Nice look, huh?", said Deacon. "This is the character I told you about. Look. We need you for a job."

"Stan again?", asked Nash, "What is this, like, the third time he's been banned?"

"So let me get this straight. This is a guy?", pointed Naomi.

"Yes.", said Deacon, "Now, Nash, how are we going to do this?" Deacon Blue invited Nash into his party.

As Deacon and Nash spoke, Naomi checked the Nash's status screen. It read:

Nash

lv. 24

258/1000

999999GP

Armless

...

_He's using sub-par armor, but where are his weapons_?, she thought, _good strength, but really crappy Magic Stats..._

"...Okay... I have a slight idea as to where he's being held. Based on his offense, I'd say he was on the second floor.", explained Nash. "Now, what kind of force do we have?" Nash began to navigate his menus. "Hmmm... We got a level 99 Heavy Blade, a level 97 Twin Blade, and a level 24 Armless; me. Okay... Items look good, scrolls look good, equipment... No, no, no... That just won't do."

"What?", asked Deacon.

"Naomi, you need better equipment, dear.", said Nash

_The nerve..._

"Here.", Nash handed her a pair of blades.

"What? Oh, thank you!", she said. The blades had an elegant curve with serrated hand guards. The handles were ivory in color with a ruby phoenix insignia at the cross-section.

_What's he doing with level 99 weaps?_, she thought as she equipped her new weapons.

"Also, everyone, take these.", instructed Nash, "We'll need them." He handed Deacon and Naomi twenty five flash-bombs.

"Hey, hey! Now we're talkin'!", said Deacon.

"What are these?", asked Naomi

"Flash-bombs were only available during a special event, and are extremely rare because of their ability to allow escape from battle. The main drawback, is that they can place you almost anywhere. From another room to another field, their unpredictability makes them dangerous to use.", explained Deacon Blue. "Wait a sec... How much is this gonna cost?"

"With equipment and flash-bombs," started Nash, "somewhere in the ballpark of five-hundred thousand GP."

Deacon paid the woman, "Stan owes me for this..."


	7. Jam

Chapter 7 Jam

The snow fell like a gentle wash in the darkness that enveloped the night. Three beams of light flashed and extinguished themselves immediately.

"No welcoming party. We're clear!", stated Deacon.

Naomi used speed charms on the party. "I guess 'no portals' means that Fairy's Orbs are useless in the field...", remarked Naomi.

"Do exactly what I say when I say it.", said Nash, "Got it?" Nash extended his arms in front of his chest. Her eyes began to glow. "We move! Forward!"

"What is she – I mean he doing?", asked Naomi as they began to move.

"One of the characteristics of the 'Armless' class is the ability to detect everything on a field. What Nash is doing is spotting enemies.", Deacon Blue explained.

"Right!", cut Nash, "Left by 45 degrees, then right by 45 degrees. Two second delay in between!"

Deacon and Naomi did as they were instructed.

"The monsters in this field use a zone defense. They patrol a set area. STOP!", yelped Nash.

Deacon and Naomi stopped.

"GO!"

They all moved. "With you two here, I'm not quite as concerned about an encounter, but... HARD RIGHT!"

They all ran to the right. "In this field, it's best to avoid encounters. We're almost there!", shouted Nash. "LEFT!"

Nash and Deacon Blue went left. Naomi stepped right.

#SCREEEEECH#

A giant crab-like creature rose from the snow, and swiped at Naomi with its claw. A red 1000 appeared above her head as she flew skywards from the force of the hit. Naomi smiled and recovered in mid-air. "PHOENIX BARRAGE!", she yelled as she began to descend upon the crab. _At least it matches Stan's move... Not that it matters., _she thought. Suddenly, nothing could be seen in the darkness but a red, vertical streak as ten blows landed, each sounding more painful than the next. Naomi, crouched behind the creature, looked over her shoulder to see that the creature still stood. According to the damage counter, she just did well over five times the damage done to her (for it was an elemental hit). The crab pivoted around, and readied its claw to crush Naomi.

"Papa's gonna get some EXP!", yelled Nash as he rushed in and landed a punch in the center of the monstrosity's back. A red 1059 rose above the spot where the crab-creature once stood. It skidded along the snow, rolling and flipping. It must have gone a good fifty meters.

"WHAT?!?", shouted Naomi

"No time! Into the dungeon!" called Deacon.

Naomi and Nash rushed in.

Naomi used a Fairy's Orb, as Nash extended his arms again. "No portals... Huh?"

"There aren't any enemies on the inside.", explained Deacon. "You'll see..."

"You mind telling me what happened back there?", inquired Naomi

"Another attribute of the 'Armless' class. You must have noted his level one armor when you checked his stats, right?", explained Deacon, "The amount of damage they can inflict multiplies based upon the level of the armor they wear. Since higher level armor tends to weigh more, you won't see an Armless in it. It slows them down and reduces their attack power."

"Wait a second. That makes sense.", replied Naomi, "Too much sense. I thought this was a RPG!"

"Yeah... Well, you also saw his magic stats and physical defense, right? A basic magic attack, or the slightest tap can kill Armless. Not to mention, they have crappy evasion.", continued Deacon, "As one would imagine, they aren't very popular in parties..."

"They just consume reses, eh?", said Naomi.

"Found him!", exclaimed Nash, "He's on the second floor, like I said."

"Okay. Let's do the Jailbreak Jam.", directed Deacon, "Maestro..." Funk music began to sound from Deacon Blue's person. He began to hum the baseline as they stepped into the first room. The room was cylindrical, and green in tint. Hundreds of characters were chained to the stone walls, lifelessly hanging there as mold began to form on some of them.

"Freaking creepy.", commented Naomi as they ran towards the stairs for the next floor.

The room on this floor was cylindrical as well, but was much larger. This time, thousands of characters were bound to the walls. The three looked around for Stan.

"I see him!", shouted Nash. "Level 84 Long Arm, Stan. Fifth row up."

"Okay. Here's what we're gonna do.", started Deacon, "I'm gonna cut him loose. Nash, you ready a Hanged Man. Naomi, since you are the only one with his member address, prepare to deliver the final blow... On three..."

"What the–", began Naomi.

"THREE!", Deacon leaped to the fifth row, and cut the shackles holding Stan in place. The character landed on both feet, and readied his spear. "NASH! NOW!", he yelled. Nash's hands clasped together in front of his mid-section. Suddenly, a bolt shot from the woman's hands and hit Stan. MISS. Stan began to charge Nash.

"Damn it all...", began Deacon. #whoosh# #CLANG# Deacon had managed to place himself between Nash and Stan, and block the blow. "'Bout time I got some action...", smiled Deacon Blue. He pushed Stan back. "Let's see if I still got it... One, Two, Three..." The music emanating from Deacon Blue changed in an instant. Deacon was playing jazz music. Stan rushed Deacon with a feint from his spear, which Deacon quickly dodged. Deacon's movement was different. More like what Naomi had remembered. As Stan pressed his attack, Deacon kept evading. He was light footing, ducking, bobbing and weaving. Like the music, he was mellow and smooth. He was bebopping. He looked somewhat comical holding that huge blade in one hand, and moving the way he was. Stan spun his spear at Deacon, but Blue slid out of harm's way and brought the blade around in a wide arc. 550. The cadence changed, as did Deacon's bebop. Stan attacked with a thrust, and Deacon Blue spun around behind him, slashed his back, and did a short hop backwards to avoid the blunt side of the spear as Stan brought it around. 932. Stan began to rush towards Deacon when he stopped in his tracks. Nash had connected with the Hanged Man. "All right. Let's finish this job.", said Nash. "Okay. Now, Naomi, knock Stan off!", commanded Deacon Blue.

Naomi proceeded to do as she was told. When the final blow had landed, Stan's body pixelized, and disappeared. She checked her member address list. Stan's name was there again.

"Looks like we didn't need to use the Flash-bombs...", began Nash.

Suddenly, they heard approaching footsteps from the stairwell. A strangely familiar voice began singing as it got closer.

"They've got a name for the winners in the world.

I want a name when I lose.

They call Alabama the 'Crimson Tide',

Call me..."

From the shadows of the stone steps crept the man with white hair.

"...Deacon Blues."


	8. Out

Chapter 8 Out

The man stood there, blade slung over his shoulder, and his free arm hanging at his side. Deacon Blue and Naomi stood in front of him, staring. Nash was near the far wall.

"From Steely Dan, right? That was my favorite group... Remember 'Do it Again'?", said the man.

"Just who are you?!", Deacon shot. Nash flung his arms in front of his chest.

"My name, is Swan.", said the man.

"Impossible! This guy is level 100! I thought the cap was 99!", exclaimed Nash.

#Whoosh# Swan disappeared. #Swoosh# #CLANG!# Deacon had appeared in front of Nash, and intercepted Swan's attack. "Watch it, Nash! I don't wanna have to go for the hat trick!", said Deacon. Without warning, Swan split his sword into two again... #Swish#

"SWITCH!", shouted Naomi. Suddenly, Nash was where Naomi was previously standing. Naomi and Deacon, on the other hand, fell off of their feet as green hexagons began to fly off of their persons. PROTECT BREAK.

"Uh-oh!", shouted Deacon Blue.

"Data Drain: Arc.", stated Swan in a fiendish tone. Suddenly, two spirals of parallel lines shot from his arm.

Deacon began to run towards Naomi as the lines approached...

#Tink, tink#

The lines bounced off of Naomi and Deacon, fell to the ground, and disappeared.

A collective, "What?" was heard.

Without hesitation, Nash used a Flash-bomb. There was a bright light.

. . .

Danny had received an E-mail message...

"Hey, Danny, this is Jack.

Sadly, we all got our asses kicked trying to un-banninate you. Now, we've all been banned. I hope you're happy.

-

-

-

-

-

KIDDING!

You can log on now! Also, we gotta talk. See you!"

. . .

In a vast field of flowers, Deacon, Stan, and Naomi lay, staring at the clouds above...

"So, let me get this straight... We got our asses whooped by a guy named 'SWAN'?!", yelled Stan.

"Seems that way.", replied Deacon, "But, what I don't get is why I'm not in a coroner's office by now..."

"Me either...", said Naomi, "I'm just glad to be alive. Which is why I'm leaving."

"I did some digging around last night.", said Deacon, "I found something interesting about the Twin Blade we encountered on that job."

"Huh?", said Stan.

"In China, a fifth-grade girl had died in front of her computer more than a week ago. Since there was a thunderstorm that night, the local authorities ruled the cause of death as an accident. They thought the house had been hit by lightning, and the subsequent surge had just shorted out her brain.", said Deacon, "It would have made sense, too. Almost all electronic devices in the house were rendered useless... Well, everything but the iron."

"Huh?"

"The iron wasn't digital. Not only that, but when they checked the house, there was no sign of lightning damage. Funny thing is, the computer worked just fine."

"So the little girl was the Twin Blade...", said Naomi.

"Tiff, you can't leave.", stated Deacon, "This guy knows who we are..."

Naomi sat upright, and looked at Deacon in wide-eyed horror.

"What?"

"Remember? He mentioned 'Do it Again'."

"So?"

"'You go back, Jack, Do it Again.

Wheel turnin' round, and round.

You go back, Jack, Do it again...'", sang Deacon, "He's got our number. If you got any siblings, tell them to stay off WIII for a couple of days."

"Damn. That's creepy!", quipped Stan, "How do we know it's not just a coincidence?"

"Before he mentioned the song, he sang a few bars from 'Deacon Blues'."

Naomi stood, left the party, and gated out.


	9. CARNIVORE

Chapter 9 CARNIVORE

Jack woke from his slumber to the sound of his alarm clock. His dog, a ten-year-old German Shepherd, stood next to his bed, tail wagging, and staring at his master as he began his morning rituals. "Let me guess, Khan.", started Jack, "Food?" After pouring dog kibble into the bowl, Jack went to the restroom, and turned his radio on...

"...After a thorough investigation, no clues were found relating to the death of Norman Stutz. The Cyber Crimes Division conducted the investigation, and found nothing out of the ordinary. Stutz's death has been ruled a fluke..."

"Hmph! Fluke my ass...", commented Jack as he shaved. "Ow!" He knicked himself. _He ran into Swan. That's what killed him._, he thought. After he finished shaving, he proceeded to dress himself.

_Over, around, under..._, he thought as he tied his tie. _I've done this over a million times, and I still recite the steps..._

"Hey, Khan! Walk time!", called Jack as he fastened his coat. The dog rapidly scrambled to his master, and waited for him to attach the leash. Jack and Khan left the house.

. . .

At 7:45 am, Jack and Khan returned home. "Be a good boy.", warned Jack. He always did that. Jack detached the leash, locked the door and left for the bus.

. . .

The bus had the same distinct smell it always does. The old man in the second row seat still had his cup of coffee, the guy in the corner had the same McBreakfast, and the woman in the back still carried a bag lunch. Jack had always meant to talk to the woman in the back, but for one reason or another had never gotten around to it. Jack took his usual seat in the fifth row.

His cell phone began to vibrate. It was his sister.

"Hello, Jack."

"Hi, Sis. What's up?"

"Ah, nothing, just thought I'd call to see how you're doing. I just heard about Stutz. He was a pretty good friend of yours, right?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. After work, I'm gonna go see his wife. You know, see what I can do to help."

"That's good."

"Sis? Could you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Could you stay off of WIII for a few days?"

"Huh? I'd be lucky if I could log on for a couple of minutes. I had uninstalled it a while ago. Things just got a little too... GENGHIS! NO!"

"What just happened?"

"The dog is licking cereal off of your niece. I don't get it. They're from the same litter. Why is Khan so much more well behaved than Genghis?"

"Beats me... Well, my stop is coming up. I'll call you after I see Norm's wife."

"All right. Bye, Jack."

"Bye, Sis."

. . .

Jack arrived at Seattle's FBI building. As usual, the place was busy. People were frantically walking around the pristine, labyrinthine corridors. It seemed that everyone was occupied. And why wouldn't they be? It's the FBI. After the security check, Stan began to walk to his station.

"Hey! Jack!", said a voice.

Jack turned around to see a coworker running in his direction. "Max, how are you?"

"Not too bad.", replied Max, "Tell me, could you meet me at lunch?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Good. See you then." Max walked off.

Jack walked into the server room, punched in, and began to work...

. . .

Jack and Max sat in a restaurant. Max had almost finished the order, "Plain, right?"

"Yeah. Just like always. You're payin' right?", mused Jack.

"Yeah. Oh. I was able to get it.", said Max. The waitress walked off.

"Really?"

"Just be careful how you use it. Oh, and officially, you do not own this. Got it?" He handed Jack a disc.

"So, this is really 'CARNIVORE'?" Jack slid the disc into his pocket.

"Well, it's kinda a copy... Thing's so #$%&in' old, no one even bothers to safeguard against it anymore. But, you can rest assured, that if it exists, that thing can hack it."

"Hmmm... Sounds good."

"To avoid detection, I only put a few vital components of the program on the disc. So you won't be able to sweep the entire net."

"Can I run traces?"

"Ooh! I forgot to get that component..."

"How'd you become an agent with such a crappy memory?"

"I got results."

Just then, the drinks had arrived...

. . .

At 7 pm, Jack stopped at his home, leashed Khan, and went for a walk. He dialed his sister on his cell phone.

"Hey, Sis!"

"Jack. How did things go? Did they need anything?"

"She's really broken up about this. Turns out, she was on a business trip when he went. To make matters worse, she's five months pregnant. Since he didn't die on the job, they don't get any benefits. The list goes on and on."

"Dang."

"Yeah... He was like the big brother I never had..."

"I know. Well, I've gotta put the baby to sleep for the night. Bye."

"Bye."

. . .

Jack walked into his house, hanged up his jacket, and unleashed the dog. He stepped over to his computer, and put the disc into the drive.

"CARNIVORE

THIS IS NOT SHAREWARE, FREEWARE, OR EVEN SOFTWARE"

_That guy... What a sense of humor..._, thought Jack. He then proceeded to install the software on his system.


	10. Inform

Chapter 10 Inform

#Ring, Ring#

"This is Carter."

"Hello. This is the calling service with a wake-up call for Mr. Carter."

"Thanks."

Danny sprang from the bed, and glanced over at the clock. 4am on the dot. He walked to the curtains and flung them open. There was very little activity on the streets below. Danny suddenly remembered that it wasn't such a good idea for him to stand in front of a hotel window in nothing but his boxers, and quickly reached for his pants.

After brushing his teeth, Danny proceeded to do his normal workout routine. Every morning, he does 1000 crunches. It was 5am when he finished his crunches, and went to shower.

The sound of falling water ceased as the woman on his bed awoke from her sleep. Danny walked out of the restroom as he dried his hair.

"Oh, you're awake, Shere.", he said.

"Ooh... morning already?", she said as she slowly got to her feet.

"Don't worry, I tipped just about everyone who saw you. Officially, you weren't even here." He put on his shirt.

"Oh." She put on her robe, and fastened it.

"You can help yourself to room service. Studio's footing the bill. I've got to be on the set in thirty."

"I won't be here long, myself.", she said. "If I'm late one more time, my boss will kill me."

"Better get a move on. Bye." Danny left the room.

. . .

6:15am. Danny arrives on set. Many people rush about without abandon. Lights need to be checked, audio equipment inspected, and cameras calibrated.

"Carter! Where the hell have you been?!?", shouted the man in the director's chair.

"New York traffic, boss.", replied Danny.

"Yakkity-yak... Just get your butt to makeup, pronto! You know how Alphonse gets...", shouted the man.

Danny ran to the makeup room.

. . .

"All right, folks.", said the man, "That's it for today."

Danny checked his watch. 5pm. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his cell phone, and began to dial.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Shere, you available tonight? I heard of this one place with the best pizza ever."

"Ooh! Sorry, Danny, I'm gonna be working all night. These reports are killing me."

"I understand."

"Besides, I gotta get my mail. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Sounds cool. See you then."

Danny put the phone back into his pocket. "$#&%. Oh well... Wonder if there's any good Chinese takeout around?"

. . .

Danny stepped into his hotel room holding a plastic bag. He glanced at his clock again. 6pm. He went over to his laptop and hit the power switch. As the machine began to boot up, he sat and began to mix the contents of one box with the contents of his box of shrimp fried rice. As he began to mix the food with one hand, he typed in his password with the other.

#Chime, chime# YOU HAVE NEW MAIL!

. . .

Danny opened his new mail...

"Hey, Dan, Tiff, I found something interesting about our little friend named Swan.

I'll be on the IM."

. . .

JackSprat: I did a little more digging. You'll never guess what I found out.

SexyTiff2509: What?

STANspark: Yeah?

JackSprat: Swan's char doesn't even exist on any WIII server.

STANspark: Huh?

JackSprat: So, I checked the WII server...

JackSprat: And I found squat.

STANspark: Well, like, this guy doesn't exist or something?

SexyTiff2509: That's definitely interesting.

JackSprat: We know for certain he can't be on The World I's servers because those were shutdown permanently...

SexyTiff2509: Right. I remember, they forced us to World II when they shutdown the servers...

STANspark: That was a pretty good deal. We got to keep our characters, and a free copy of World II. What were we, lv 1 ...?

JackSprat: yeah. Back then, there were only like, 50000 people playing World I...

JackSprat: CC made that offer presumably to save money... I had just registered when I was forced off. . .

JackSprat: THAT'S IT!

STANspark: What?

JackSprat: you guys just gave me a great idea. I'm gonna check something. I'll contact you guys later.

. . .

Danny sat on the bed, and watched the television.

#Chime, chime# YOU HAVE NEW MAIL!

. . .

"Ha, ha! I thought so!

Dan, Tiff, IM me!"

. . .

STANspark: Where's the fire?

SexyTiff2509: What's up?

JackSprat: I found out why I'm not dead!

STANspark: I'm getting sick of typing Huh?, tell us already!

JackSprat: Okay. I did some more digging. This time, I went into CC's files.

JackSprat: Turns out, that after a certain incident, CC decided to take some safeguards.

JackSprat: After that incident every character was embedded with a special piece of "do-nothing"code.

JackSprat: They called the code the "Twilight Line". According to the file, the code was implemented...

JackSprat: To protect against a certain attack. That attack's name was...

JackSprat: Data Drain.

SexyTiff2509: Well, why did it delete your character? Why are those people dead?

JackSprat: For World II, the programmers had removed anything pertaining to something called an "Epitaph of Twilight"..

JackSprat: As a result, they could stop embedding the "Twilight Line" into each character. Since there was no chance of future disasters...

SexyTiff2509: Or so they thought...

JackSprat: Deacon was a new character I made in World III so he'd be affected for sure. Which means that only a handful of people are protected from this menace.

STANspark: Looks like I'M gonna have to spend fifteen dollars...


	11. Wing

Chapter 11 Wing

#Knock, knock, knock#

"Hey, Tiffany, it's me! Open up! It's rent day!", shouted a voice.

Tiffany bumbled out of her bed, and stumbled to answer the door. "Oh. Mr. Bezok! Rent's due already?" She reached for the letter holder near the door, and pulled her checkbook from it. "Pen, please?", she said as she held her free hand open. The man fumbled and frisked himself, found a pen, and handed it to her. She quickly wrote the check, tore it out of the book, and handed it to him. She began to shut the door.

"#Ahem#", went the man, "Pen?"

"Whoops.", she handed the pen back to the man.

Tiffany glanced at the clock on her stove. 8:05am. She trudged to her bathroom and began to brush her teeth. "#Sigh#." _This nonsense is going too far... I just wanted to have a little fun, meet some new people... Now, I just don't know anymore..._

She looked at herself in the mirror as she buttoned up her shirt. _That event starts today. Things are gonna be really busy. Wonder if he's gonna show...?_

She grabbed her keys, threw on her coat, and rushed out of the door.

. . .

The El pulled into the station, and Tiffany boarded it. The El had the same odd, unidentifiable smell it always had. She saw two old women, purses in hand, on their way to the river boat bus. To her, this was an indication that it was indeed Thursday; as she saw these two women every Thursday. There was a meek-looking man in the corner of the car reading a newspaper. His constant shaking and fiddling with his glasses always made him look timid to her. On the far side of the car was a man with a cup of coffee. It was the same coffee as always; Starbucks.

The El screeched into the final station as passengers gathered near the doors of each car. Tiffany stepped off and rushed to the bus stop.

. . .

The bus arrived just as she had. She began to board the bus. "Hey! Tiffany!", called a voice. She turned around to see her coworker, Andrea. "Hi, Andrea. How are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm fine. You ready for today?", asked Andrea as they found a seat.

"I hope I am."

"The boss man said today's gonna be extremely busy. Especially since the new wing will be opened today."

"Yeah. It's been a long time coming, but the new wing should be pretty impressive. I would imagine that it's going to be a madhouse. You think any kids will ditch today?"

"Do you even need to ask?"

"I suppose you have a point..."

. . .

Tiffany and Andrea arrived at the Scramble Arcade. Video arcade machines were scattered about the floor as far as the eye could see. On the second level was more video arcade machines. At the far end of the building was a set of stairs. Beyond those stairs was the new wing. The two entered the locker room, and put their belongings into their locker. "Tiff, Andrea! Today's the big day!", yelled another voice.

"John, how long have you been here?" Andrea inquired as she turned to face him.

"I've been here since last night! I'm so freaking excited! This is going to be the best release ever!"

"Did you even sleep?", asked Tiffany.

"Well, no. The wooden benches around here aren't too comfortable, you know."

"Where's Carl? Did he say what our assignments were?", asked Andrea.

"He should be in his office. He didn't leave last night either."

The two left the locker room, and went to Carl's office. Carl had just stepped out of his door. "Hey, Carl, what are our assignments today?", Tiffany asked. Carl turned to face them.

"Oh, you two.", he said as he flipped a couple of pages on his clipboard, "Okay. Tiffany, you are manning the token counter, and, Andrea, you will be working the floor with John."

"All RIGHT!!!", shouted Andrea, "WHOO! I'll be the first to try it out! I'll go tell John!" Andrea ran off.

"Thanks, Carl.", said Tiffany as she walked to the token counter next to the new wing.

. . .

At 10am, there was a crowd that ran through the entire building. Tiffany, had just finished setting up at the token counter when the man at the top of the stairs began to speak.

"We at the Cyber Connect Corporation are proud to be here for the launch of World III on a new platform. This establishment is one of ten around the country to have such a facility installed, and more locations will follow. You are all here because a month ago, the CC Corp had sent invitations to all of you. Why you? All of you have successfully participated in at least one event of World III. Well, either that, or you were an employee of this establishment. As those of you who have inspected your invitations know, there is an eleven digit code on the bottom. This eleven digit code enables participation in one of the most exclusive events yet: The Cyber Connect Grand Prix! Just enter the code at the nearest Chaos Gate, and you'll be entered! The rules are simple. This is a free-for-all which means that the last one standing wins the prize. First, we'll allow the initial wave of five hundred contestants into the event area. Every thirty minutes, a new wave of one hundred contestants will be introduced into the fray. There are no item restrictions. With that, let the Grand Prix begin!" The man flung open the large doors at the bottom of the stair well. The crowd began to file into the new wing.


	12. SParkers

Chapter 12 SParkers

Various expressions of amazement were heard as the crowd filed into the large new wing. The basement facility was about the size of a football field. It had two levels with many giant cylinders that had numerous spherical pods mounted on them. Giant screens were seemingly everywhere.

"Before the Grand Prix is to begin, please listen to these two as they provide instructions as to the operation of these new machines.", the man said as he waved his arm in Andrea and John's direction.

"Thank you.", began Andrea, "Once you step into a VR pod, secure your goggles and type 'cal' on the keyboard to calibrate your joysticks. Once your joysticks are calibrated, you must input your username and password. The World III controls practically the same as..."

"PREPARE TO BE OWNED!" shouted John as he ran, laughing, to a pod and hopped in.

"Ahem! The World III controls practically the same as it would on your PC or home console system.", continued Andrea, " As was mentioned by my colleague we will be competing with you for the Grand Prize: three free months of service and special, exclusive event items for your character including a one-of-a-kind summon, armor, and a new ability of your own creation. You may have noticed the screens located around the facility. These monitor the action on the playing field. Use these to stake out your opposition before you enter the fray. Remember, you'll be competing with people in the other nine facilities like this around the country. So, that means that there are approximately ten thousand contestants. After John explains the scoring, the contest will begin!" she said as she waved her arm to where John used to be standing. ". . . Oh, that's right. Idiot...", she muttered under her breath, "I'll explain the scoring. Scoring doesn't matter in the overall competition, but the MVP gets a special mystery prize. A person can be the MVP and not win the competition. Each PK, or player kill, nets you one point. However, getting PK'd transfers all of your points to the one who PK'd you. The MVP is the person who holds on to the most points for the longest amount of time. With that, would the first four hundred ninety-eight contestants please find a pod?"

The first four hundred ninety-eight people showed their invitations, and ran to find a pod. The screens powered on and displayed a giant field. The field had lots of trees surrounding one large grassy clearing that appeared to be five hundred yards in length and width. Various locations of the field were shown at differing camera angles on almost every monitor. The only monitor not showing a piece of the field was near the door. It kept track of scoring.

"Hey, Tiffany.", said Carl. "I've changed my mind. I'll handle the token counter." He stepped behind the counter.

"Why? I don't mind...", Tiffany began

"Nonsense. Just go have some fun."

"But..."

Carl's expression changed. He looked slightly annoyed. "Just go. What's the use of working in one of these places if you don't get to do stuff like this. You do remember your entry code, right?"

"Well, yes..." She had memorized it when she first got the invitation.

"Then go!"

"Um, thanks, Carl." She went to stand in the waiting area. _I thought I'd never have to play this again..._

. . .

The camera located above the clearing showed that about four thousand people made their way out of the forest. They all stood there for a brief second, and looked around to see others standing at the perimeter of the grassy area. Deafening roars could be heard as they all began to converge upon the center. Swords clashed and characters flew in every which direction. Those who weren't accelerated by Speed Charms were quickly PK'd. Red numbers were all over the place. The crowd of characters was so thick, it seemed like a solid mass. Suddenly, the wind blew, and green hexagons began to fly into the air. Immediately afterwards, part of the mass of characters began to pixilate. The characters that pixilated, disappeared and made a pattern. The pattern read:

HELLO TIFFANY

"Oh my –...", she began. She was standing in the waiting area. She had seen it all. She knew what to had just happened.

Without as much as a thought, she pushed her way through the throng to the front of the waiting area.

"That's thirty! Next hundred up, please!", yelled the attendant at the velvet rope. Tiffany showed her employee ID and took off to the nearest unoccupied VR pod. She hopped in, strapped the goggles to her face, typed the calibration command, and logged in.

. . .

In a beam of light, Naomi appeared in the forest.

"Freeze!", shouted a voice.

She turned slowly to see two men and a woman standing behind her.

"Hello, Naomi.", said one man. His giant staff trained on her. He wore an orange sleeveless jacket with a hood, brown short pants, and a thick leather belt that didn't seem to serve any purpose other than fashion. He was thin with blond hair and beady green eyes.

"How's Stan?" said the other man. He was a fat Twin Blade with green hair and red eyes. He wore a brown tactical vest with blue cargo pants. He pointed a blade at Naomi.

"Fancy meeting you here, %!#$&.", said the woman. She was tall and thin with spiky medium-length red hair. She wore a Red mini-vest on her torso and a blue flowing skirt. She pointed her large blade at Naomi.

"Kenny, Kyle, Cartwright... What are the Sparkers doing here?", Naomi inquired.

"We're here to win the prize!" Said Kyle as they all began to charge Naomi.


	13. Celebrity

Chapter 13 Celebrity

The Twin Blade, Kyle, reached Naomi first, and attacked with an overhead slice. Naomi ducked as she slid underneath and behind the woman approaching her from the front. "Too slow, Cartwright!", she mused. With amazing speed, the woman turned around.

"How many times do I have to tell you!!!", the woman charged forwards, "THE NAME'S CARTMAN!"

Before Naomi knew anything, she was flying backwards. The red numbers 1500 appeared where she was previously standing. She did know one thing. They were all coming after her, and that wasn't good. She used a speed charm as she got up, and followed that with a full heal item.

"Drill Blade!", shouted Kyle as he sprang forwards spinning parallel to the ground with both blades pointed.

"Oh, crap!" Naomi dived out of the way. Kyle continued, and destroyed a nearby tree.

"Ebon Wulf! Come to my aid!" shouted Kenny. A deafening howl was heard throughout the forest, and from nowhere a giant, black wolf skidded in front of Naomi. Its fur was lustrous, but at the same time, had the look of an infinite void, and its fangs were pure white, like the hottest flames. If it wasn't there for the purpose of taking her out, she would think it quite a noble beast.

_Crap! I've gotta do something!_, she thought.

As it opened its jaws of oblivion, a dark maelstrom began to form. Naomi ducked, and a projectile of dark matter shot from its mouth. The projectile hit a group of some other players about two hundred yards behind Naomi, and cleared a hundred square yards of forest in a dark sphere of destruction.

Naomi darted between the giant wolf's legs and headed straight for Kenny. The wolf skidded into a turn and began to give chase.

"PHOENIX BARRAGE!", she yelled. For one, brief second, nothing could be seen of Naomi but red streak that went right through Kenny. Fifteen blows were heard as Kenny went flying into the air. His ghost hit the ground, and vanished. Just as Naomi appeared behind the vanquished character, the wolf, jaws primed to tear into her, disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

"Holy crap!", yelled Cartman, "She killed Kenny!!!" Just as she was about to charge Naomi again, she became pixilated and disappeared.

"Ouch!", said Naomi, "You've been banninated!" She turned to see Kyle standing right behind her. "SWITCH!", she yelled.

Suddenly, they were back to back. "Huh?", wondered Kyle. Before he could get his bearings, Naomi had spun around, and slashed him five times. His ghost hit the ground, and disappeared.

She, then, began a frantic rush for the clearing.

. . .

The man in a suit had hurriedly fumbled into the control room of the new wing. He placed his microphone on the counter next to the door, and banged his fist onto the terminal. "Just who is that guy!?", he demanded. "No one's been able to put a scratch on him!"

"We don't know.", commented a man reading a print out.

"Well find out!", the man in the suit stormed out of the control room, grabbing his microphone on the way.

"Dispatch the GM teams!", barked a woman at a phone.

. . .

Naomi reasoned that she was about halfway to the clearing. Without warning, a voice boomed:

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, CC CORP. IS PROUD TO PRESENT THE CELEBRITY GUEST PLAYER, PLAYING AT THE SOLID ARCADE IN NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, DANNY CARTER!!"

In the distance, she saw a light that shined for only a moment. _Wow. Carter even got a good spawn point. Celebs get all of the breaks._

Five figures rushed past her. They moved like the wind to the position of the light source.

"I've got first dibs!"

"NO WAY!"

"I'll be famous for taking out Carter's character!"

"You'll have to stop me from doing it first!"

"Suckers!"

Then, she heard the five screaming. Naomi, too began to move more quickly to match their speed.

She was almost there. In the distance she could vaguely see a familiar figure, just standing there with his hands in his pockets, a spear tucked under his arm. He was of average height, with auburn hair and blue eyes. On his torso, he wore a kevlar vest. His skin was fair. Hanging from his mouth, was a cigarette. "Yo.", he said.

Naomi stopped. "Stan?"


	14. Brigade

Chapter 14 Brigade

"I thought you weren't playing this game anymore.", said Stan.

"Deac was right. He knows who we are.", said Naomi, "But, it looks like you switched to your old character."

"Yeah.", commented Stan, "But, it cost me fifteen bucks!" He checked his equipment.

"Wait, you are Danny Carter?", asked Naomi, "Why didn't you ever tell us?"

"Never came up." He began to run for the clearing. Naomi followed.

"You're rich and famous. Why are you complaining about fifteen dollars?"

"You don't get rich with extravagant spending."

"So, you're a cheapskate... Huh?"

"I prefer the term 'frugal'."

Two figures dropped from the trees above. "Heh. Small fries.", commented Stan. He jumped forward, drew his spear, and slashed them both before they landed. Two ghosts hit the ground and vanished. Stan and Naomi continued their rush for the clearing.

"You do know, your last movie sucked, right?"

"Yeah... Well it's not my fault. Blame the writers..."

. . .

"... And now, the fifth, and final wave.", said the man in a suit. "But, these contestants get a special handicap bonus! They get to spawn right in the middle of the clearing! Ready? GO!"

Suddenly, the cameras all averted their gaze to the center of the field, the clearing. At the moment, a lone, red-clad figure stood there. His white hair blowing in the whistling wind with the same rhythm as the high grass that surrounded him. His face obscured by the shadows created by the artificial sun. Without warning, hundreds of pillars of light began to surround him.

He looked up, smiled, and calmly drew his blade. As the crowd of one thousand began their rush to the center, he quickly turned, and swung his humongous blade, releasing a wide destructive wave that instantly ripped through all in its path. He estimated that the wave he had just released had taken out about five hundred characters.

The other five hundred stopped dead in their tracks.

Swan took a moment to stare at the collection of players that stood before him. Blade slung over his shoulder, and free arm hanging at his side, he began to chuckle. "Well, well, let me see... I want you." He suddenly disappeared.

. . .

Stan and Naomi could almost see the clearing. The numerous minor battles that transpired before that point seemed not to have taken a toll on them.

Suddenly, Stan stopped. "Shh!", he said, "Do you hear that sound?"

"What?"

"Listen."

A loud hum could be heard in the air as six flying vessels soared overhead leaving condensation trails in the sky.

"They've called 'them'?!?", he said.

"What? Who?", she asked.

"The Game Masters."

The two ran to the edge of the clearing. All they could see was Swan. Then, six, decorated circles of light appeared in the sky, and began spinning. Slowly at first, but rapidly gaining speed.

#Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh#

A figure dropped through the center of each circle. Swan was soon surrounded by six characters. The GM team.

"All right!", said Naomi, "They've finally arrived to kick Swan's booty!"

"Oh yeah!", exclaimed Stan, "It's about freakin' time!"

Swan continued to stand there, not moving at all. "You there!", shouted a female GM, "State your character name."

He remained silent.

"Did you hear?!", shouted another GM, "State your character name."

He stuck his sword into the ground.

"That's it!", shouted another GM, "You're to be banned. Effective immediately!"

All of the GM's spun their weapons in their hands "Ready?!", they shouted, "Banninate!"

Before they could plunge their weapons into the ground, Swan lowered his stance and extended both of his arms. "Data Drain: BAKUHA!", he shouted. Suddenly, the entire clearing went up in white light. Stan and Naomi shielded their eyes. When the light had subsided, only Swan was standing. His back was turned to them.

"You do know that it was Ruth who refused to leave Naomi.", said Swan, "But, it seems that a more suitable name for you would be Orpah."

". . .", began Naomi.


	15. Shadow

Chapter 15 Shadow

"What the hell is he talking about?", asked Stan.

Naomi turned her head to look at Stan who was standing next to her. "In the Bible, Naomi had two daughters-in-law. One named Ruth, the other Orpah. Their husbands, Naomi's sons, had died.", she began to stare at Swan in the corner of her eye, "Naomi was devastated by the loss of her sons, and told Ruth and Orpah to leave, find new husbands, and make new lives. Orpah left, but Ruth stayed, and refused to leave."

"You've lost me. None of that relates to what's going on here.", said Stan.

"My sister. Her name in RL is Orpah. She plays WIII as well."

"So?"

"I don't know how, but this guy, he really does know who we are."

"Yeah, well, to you, that may be disturbing.", said Stan, "But, I live in the public eye. Nothing this guy says can surprise me. I'm freakin' famous."

"Your point?"

"Let's just kick his ass!" Stan pointed his spear at Swan.

Naomi looked at Stan in surprise for a brief moment. She, then, fixed her gaze on Swan.

"Right on! Ready?"

"Steady?"

"Go!"

They both began to rush Swan. "Heh, heh, heh... Well, this is new...", commented Swan, "Data Drain: Resurrection!" He raised his arms, and two white wireframes shot from the ground, and began to fill with color. The character models looked familiar. They were the character models of Deacon and the head GM. The GM was wearing a heavy looking, deep purple robe. His eyes were a cold, gray color, and he had no hair. In one hand, he held a golden scepter. In the other, a rapier. They started to move forwards...

#Slash, slash, slash#

Without stopping, Naomi and Stan had slashed through the two character models, and were moving to attack Swan.

"Phoenix Barrage!", shouted Naomi as her blades began to glow.

"Satsu no Hou!", roared Stan as his spear's blade began to rend the ground below.

A red streak went right through Swan, launching him into the air, as a giant red 4000 rose from where he was previously standing. Immediately afterwards another red streak shot from the ground and pierced through Swan. A red 5000 rose from his being as Stan appeared above him.

"Double Entente Excelsior!" They both yelled.

Swan grinned as he began to fall to the ground, he then somersaulted, and landed on both feet. "Not bad. But, I've exhausted all of the fun here. It's time for me to go." #Whoosh!# Swan, disappeared again. The two assumed defensive positions.

Two minutes passed.

"Whew...", said Naomi as she plopped down, and sat in the tall grass. Stan slung his spear over his shoulder. "So, like who's gonna win this competition? I think we're the only two contestants left...", said Stan.

#Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck#

Several small daggers surrounded Stan. "What the–?!", Began Stan.

#BA-BOOM!#

Stan went flying skywards from the large explosion. He tumbled for a bit before his ghost hit the ground, and vanished.

"STAN!?!", Naomi sprang up, and assumed a defensive position.

From the dense forest nearby, a shadow sprang. "One down, one to go! What an easy win.", bragged the voice.

"Show yourself!", shouted Naomi.

"I already have...", said the voice. Suddenly, the voice was sounding behind Naomi.

"What are you? Who are you?", inquired Naomi.

"I am called Fang. I am just a shadow.", said the voice.

_A Shadow?_, she thought.


	16. Mistake

Chapter 16 Mistake

_I thought they were only a rumor._, she thought. She, then, remembered what she had read on the message boards the other day:

"Subject: Shadow

Yeah, I saw something weird just now in a dungeon. It didn't register as a monster, and if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't know it was there. I'm an Armless, so like, I can detect everything. It was a humanoid-looking thing it had no distinguishable features or anything, but it did carry what looked like weapons. It was more like some kind of shadow or something...

Re: Shadow

Well, that's exactly what it was. A Shadow. It's one of the new classes.

Re: Re: Shadow

Nonsense. Stop spreading rumors. No one even knows HOW to make a Shadow. It's just a myth. I'm reporting you for trolling. You freakin' troll."

Naomi stood straight up. "So, you're a Shadow."

The figure appeared right in front of her. "Yes... What of it?", said the voice.

"Then I've already won. Hacked characters are illegal in the Grand Prix.", she said.

"Oh, but I'm quite legal. I can assure you of that." said Fang.

"How is that possible?", she asked.

"The ways of the Shadow are lonely ways. We exit the way we arrive. No fanfare, no bang, not even a whisper.", continued the figure. "We exist by being alone. We become strong by ourselves, we face hardship by ourselves, and we become invincible by ourselves."

Naomi looked confused. "Huh?"

"We, the Shadows, have made it to level 99 without ever joining a party."

"Oh, is that it? Well, geez, that's no big deal. It just means that it's a class for the modern pathetic super-geek."

"WHAT!?"

"Tell me. Are all Shadows D&D rejects? Must you all make such a melodramatic speech? All you did was play a game."

"I'll make you suffer!!!" Fang threw several daggers.

#Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck# They were all in a straight line in the ground in front of Naomi.

"Crap!", screamed Naomi as she somersaulted backwards, and slid a bit. #BA-BOOM!!!#

Fang appeared behind her... #PING, CLING, CLANG# Naomi had deflected two daggers and blocked a horizontal slice. Fang used his free hand to swing his dagger at Naomi... #CLANG!# Naomi blocked, and threw a roundhouse kick. Fang vaulted into the air, and threw more daggers at Naomi.

She back flipped to avoid them. #Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck...# She slid to a stop, and began running to her right just as Fang appeared behind her. #Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck...# Fang appeared in front of her. She lunged at him, but he jumped out of the way. She rolled, and continued running and turned right. _No explosion?_, she thought as she ran. #Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck, Thuck...# She did a roundoff, and fired off a fireball. "Giga Flame!", she said. "Crap!" shouted Fang. The fireball hit him, and knocked him out of the sky. _??? I can't target him!_, she thought, _What gives?!?!_ Naomi looked around. She couldn't see him. All she could see was the daggers that she'd been dodging that were scattered about the field. _This isn't good... I've got to do something..._, she thought, _The Goggles!_

She grabbed the goggles that were resting on her forehead, and fitted them over her eyes. Suddenly, the field became a wireframe. "Gotcha.", she said. She was looking at a man who appeared to be in his twenties. He wore a tight black shirt, and blue cargo pants. He had jet black hair, and darker eyes. She could see that he was moving towards her. Naomi rushed him and performed an uppercut slash. 500. She, then, brought her other blade around, and slashed his torso. 503. She continued the spin, and landed a roundhouse kick. 25. Fang flew backwards.

"Very good." he said, "Now I'll show you something." A dagger appeared in his hand, and he tossed it behind him next to one of the daggers he had previously thrown. "It's a little trick I like to call... DOMINO BOOM!" Suddenly, the dagger he had just thrown exploded, and triggered a chain reaction of explosions.

"SWITCH, SWITCH!" she shouted. Naomi changed places with him, and changed back. She then stared at him blankly. "What?", asked Fang. Suddenly, the dagger next to where he was lying exploded. #BA-BOOM!# Naomi was knocked backwards from the shockwave, and slid along the tall grass a little ways. She, then, flipped her goggles onto her forehead. A red 10582 rose from the space Fang previously occupied.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE WINNER OF THE CYBER CONNECT GRAND PRIX IS NAOMI.


	17. Huh?

Chapter 17 Huh?

. . .

"How is the subject?"

"These brainwave patterns are off the charts."

"Really? Blood pressure and pulse?"

"All below average."

"Well, we just sit and wait."

"... God, I hate this project."

. . .

Tiffany stepped out of the VR pod. The lights were so bright to her after being in a small dark area for a long period of time. She glanced at the digital clock above the wing's entrance. 1:05 pm. The man in the suit approached her. "Our winner!!!", he shouted as he grabbed her arm and thrust it into the air. Those that were there began to applaud. He then released her hand as a woman approached him with a small card.

"Oh, ho, ho...", he said, "The MVP has been decided. Since the 'mystery man' logged out, and probably wasn't even legal in the first place, his points and time go to the person who hit him last. Our MVP is Danny "Stan" Carter!!!" More applause was heard. "You can expect an e-mail with details on how to claim your prize.", he whispered to Tiffany.

Suddenly, a woman's scream was heard. It was Andrea. Tiffany ran towards the scream before she even knew what she was doing. What she saw when she found Andrea was so shocking that she dropped to her knees. Andrea was kneeling there, crying, and holding John's lifeless body. His eyes had rolled into the back of his head. John was dead.

"Owned!", shouted a twenty-something in the crowd. Suddenly, all of the eyes in the place were on the young man who made the statement. To him, they all looked angry.

Tiffany, crying, sprang up, and began to open more pods. Some of the pods she opened were empty, and others made her wish that they were empty. "Someone call an ambulance!"

. . .

10 pm. Tiffany sat on her couch, curled in fetal position, staring at the television screen.

. . .

"Hello, I'm Trent Kengo. Today, during the event known as the 'Cyber Connect Grand Prix', five-hundred people nationwide died this morning at various arcades throughout the country. Cyber Connect Corporation has blamed the deaths on an 'unpredictable equipment malfunction'. The heads of CC Corp are scheduled to be questioned in front of the Grand Jury. Amongst those dead, are 50 Illinois natives and six of the World III Game Masters. Due to time constraints we cannot name them all. Now, here's Juliette VanCrescoe..."

. . .

#CHIME, CHIME# "You have new mail!"

Tiffany shuffled over to her computer.

. . .

"Hello,

Thank you for your participation in The Cyber Connect Grand Prix. Please claim your prize at the nearest save-point.

Thank you,

CC Corp."

. . .

"More mail?", she said.

. . .

"Hey, It's me, Fang,

I saw you at the Scramble. Yeah, I'm the guy who shouted "Owned!"

Well, anyhow, I was wondering. Do you think we can get together sometime? Grab some pizza or something? Oh, I added my member address as an attachment.

Later."

. . .

Tiffany stared at the screen in awe. _This guy's either a jerk, or just plain nuts..._, she thought. _Fifty people just kicked off, and he wants to go out on a date...?_

. . .

"Hey, Tiff, Dan, it's me Jack a.k.a. Deacon Blue.

Yeah. I missed the Grand Prix. I took a sick day (the boss is somehow under the impression that I have some kinda disease...), and I did some more digging. I don't even believe the stuff I've dug up. I've got a headache now (staring at a screen all day, you know...), so IM me tomorrow."

. . .

"Well, I may as well pick up my prize...", she said.


	18. Change

Chapter 18 Change

. . .

"How is our subject today?"

"Brainwave patterns are everywhere and nowhere."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"Take a look. According to the monitors, the subject has just enough brain activity to keep his heart and lungs going."

"Right... However?"

"However, we can't get a reading on any other types of activity."

"Well, that's certainly an odd occurrence. Tell me. Is there a possibility that the subject is a vegetable?"

"I don't know."

"Was this project a failure?"

"I don't know."

. . .

Many characters were huddled near candles and small shrines as Naomi strolled to the Save Point in New Mac Anu. "Thank you for your participation in the Cyber Connect Grand Prix!", said the NPC, "Here is your prize!" The NPC handed Naomi several books. Although she knew it was an NPC, she felt that its cheery disposition was a little inappropriate.

#CHIME, CHIME!# "You have new mail!"

_I"ll check it later_, she thought as she walked to the main bridge. She sat on the wooden bridge's rail, and stared at the moving water in the canal below. "Huh?", she said as she turned her head. She thought she saw something in the corner of her eye. "Come on out." she said.

Suddenly, a figure appeared from empty space. It was Fang. "Yo! That was pretty good!", he said.

"What do you want?"

"Well, since for one reason or another we can't date in RL, I was thinking that maybe we could date here..."

"You didn't notice the absence of a reply? You are obnoxious."

". . . Well, geez. That's not nice of you at all..."

"Leave."

"Okay, okay, already... Geez... I'll be back..." He faded into empty space.

Naomi hopped off of the rail, and opened her inventory. She viewed the books that were in her possession. _Hmmm..._, she thought, _I'll open this one._ The book she held was red in color. When she opened it, a beam of light shot from the sky.

To her, the rest of the World had faded out of view. As she looked below, she could see a roulette wheel spinning. It was difficult for her to make out, but on the wheel she saw the icons for equipment classes (Gloves, Armor, Knives, Headgear, and Footgear). When the wheel stopped, the ball landed on the picture of Knives. Before she knew anything, the second book automatically opened, the beam of light became even brighter, and she heard a bird-like cry. A white flame began to burn in front of her. When she reached out to touch it, it absorbed into her hands. Then, the third book automatically opened. The light was blinding. A voice began to ask her some seemingly random questions. Each time she answered, she noticed that the light began to dim.

When the light had disappeared, Naomi was standing on the main bridge of New Mac Anu. She looked around, and noticed that Fang was still there, and he was staring at her.

"OH MY GOSH!!!!", Fang exclaimed, "IT IS THE HOTNESS!!!!"

"Huh?", she said. She ran to the nearest armor shop, and Fang followed. When she got there, she looked in the mirror. Her character looked different. She wore a short, loose-fitting yellow kimono with red trim. Her body had red fiery markings on it. Her black hair had blonde and red highlights, and was untied. Her goggles now rested above her hairline. When she turned, she noticed that the back of her kimono had the same Phoenix insignia as her weapons.

"Oooohhh, baby!", shouted Fang, "You look so good that you're ruining my eyes! What do you say we go to a deserted field and..."

"Hell no.", said Naomi.

"Awww... I was only gonna ask for a PvP match..."

"Really?"

"Well, no... I was gonna ask for something else. . ."

"Uh-huh... Let's make a deal."

"A deal?"

"Well, I want to test something out. So, here's the deal. If I win in a PvP match, you leave me alone. However, if you win, you get my #shudder# member address. Deal?"

"You're on!"


	19. Fight

Chapter 19 Fight

. . .

"Quick! Get in here! The subject's heart is failing!"

"He's stopped breathing!"

"What's going on here?! This hasn't happened with the other subjects!"

"Get the respirator and defibrillator! He costs too much! It'll be my ass on the fire if he dies!"

. . .

Naomi and Fang approached the West Chaos Gate of New Mac Anu. Naomi turned to face Fang.

"...", began Naomi.

"I'll input the keywords.", said Fang as he rushed to gate. He typed several words in such a quick succession that Naomi was unable to discern what they were. The next thing she knew, she was enclosed in several circles of light.

. . .

A barren wasteland lie before them with steam geysers and rocky soil as far as they could see. Thunder filled the cloudy skies. Naomi looked at Fang. "What is this place?", she asked. She had noticed the lack of a dungeon.

"This is where I became strong. This will also be the setting for our fight.", said Fang as he looked straight ahead. He turned to look at Naomi, and grinned. "Shall we begin?", he asked. He took ten paces, and turned to face Naomi. He reached into his pocket, and retrieved a small coin. "We begin when this hits the ground.", he said as he flipped it high into the air.

Naomi had assumed a ready position, when she caught something in the corner of her eye. A wind rushed past her. "Huh?" Before she knew anything, she was knocked off of her feet. She saw the red numbers 1503 appear as she slid to a stop.

#pif#

"What was that?!", shouted Naomi. When she looked at Fang, she could see that the match had already begun. He vaulted high into the air and threw several shuriken.

#thick, thick, thick, thick, thick#

Naomi rolled out of the way, and onto her feet as the shuriken hit the ground. She jumped towards Fang and prepared to strike him with one of her blades. Before she could hit him, the strong wind rushed past her again, and she was knocked to the ground. The same red numbers appeared.

Fang landed, and readied several throwing stars. "They're special monsters. Sonic Boomers. You will have to contend with both me and them, as I will have to contend with both them and you." He pivoted around, and launched his throwing stars.

#whap, whap, whap, whap, whap, whap, whap, whap#

A small monster, goblin-like in appearance, stopped in its tracks, fell on its face, and disappeared.

While his back was turned, Naomi used a Speed Charm and full heal potion, and launched a fireball. "Giga Flame!" #VWOOSH# The searing ball of flame sped past Fang and struck another Sonic Boomer. "LEVEL UP!" appeared above Naomi's head.

Fang turned to face Naomi. "But, that's not all! Oh no, that's not all!" He snapped his finger, and without warning, the sky cleared, and giant trees shot from the ground around them. In an instant, the barren wasteland had turned into a forest. Naomi found herself standing on a tree branch, looking down at Fang. She launched herself towards Fang headfirst. In mid-flight, she quickly brought her blade around to strike the Sonic Boomer rushing above her, and continued her spin. "Staccato DRILL!", she shouted. She became a red whirl as she neared Fang. He tried to cross his arms in front of him for defense, but it was too late. A red 1532 rose from his person. Naomi landed behind him, crouched. From the crouch, she spun into a roundhouse kick. 23. Fang used a dagger to deflect the blade hit that followed from Naomi's current spin, and tossed the dagger sideways to hit another Sonic Boomer. Naomi rushed Fang with a flurry of attacks. All of which he blocked. Block. Block. Counter. Block. Naomi turned to strike another Sonic Boomer, and continued her spin in an attempt to hit Fang. He flipped backwards, threw a dagger, and jumped in. Naomi deflected the dagger, and began to block Fang's offensive. As the two of them exchanged blocks, parries and counters, the leaves on the trees began to fall. Fang rushed in with a kick. 35. Naomi was knocked back. He threw several daggers. #Thuck, thuck, thuck, thuck, thuck# Using her backwards momentum, Naomi somersaulted out of the way, and into another wind. Before she knew anything, she had been knocked skywards. She watched the red numbers rise from where she had once stood. "Hydro Beam!", shouted Fang as he extended an arm at Naomi and shot a solid stream of water into the air. Naomi twisted to avoid it, and landed. As she looked at her skills and magic, she noticed that she had a summon spell. She spread her arms as fire began to encircle her.

Fang began to rush Naomi, but before he could reach her, he was knocked backwards onto his butt by an unseen force. From the fiery circle rose a giant bird. Its feathers were mainly red, and its down was rainbow colored, as was its long tail feathers. It was a phoenix. It let out a majestic cry as it rose into the air. It hovered above Naomi, and opened its beak where an intense energy began to gather. #FRAG# A beam shot from the ball of energy, pierced the ground, and formed a line before Fang. #ZEWEEEEE...# "Uh-oh!", shouted Fang as he began to retreat, but it was too late. #BABOOOOM!# The section of ground exploded, and Fang was knocked onto his back. 5267. He used a full heal potion as he got up. The bird rose above the forest, and began to circle the immediate area. By then, all of the leaves had fallen, and it began to snow.

Fang spun in place rapidly. "Hyper Maelstrom!", he shouted. Thousands of daggers and shuriken filled the air from every angle. Several Sonic Boomers fell. When Fang stopped spinning, the entire area was covered in daggers and shuriken. Naomi lay on the ground not far from his position. As he walked over to her, a light emanated from her person. He looked to the sky. The phoenix began to dive towards Naomi's position. "Uh-oh!", shouted Fang as he began to scramble in the opposite direction. The giant bird's dive hit Naomi's body in a huge explosion. Suddenly, Naomi shot from the smoke and slashed at Fang. He narrowly evaded the hit. She continued her spin into an uppercut slash. It brushed him. 300. She followed that with an overhead stab. It hit a Sonic Boomer. "LEVEL UP!" appeared above her head again. Fang, taking advantage of his opportunity, spun in with an elbow attack. 100. Naomi was knocked backwards. The snow began to melt. She checked her skills again to find that she had a new skill. "DUPLICATE!", she yelled. Suddenly, an exact copy of her appeared next to where she stood. The two of them initiated a new offensive against Fang. One would attack with a flurry of hits, fall back, and let the other take her place. All the while, Fang blocked as best he could. "I can't handle this.", he said. Just then, the double disappeared. "Huh?", said Naomi as she turned her head to where the double previously was. _It must be timed_, she thought.

"That's it. I'm ending this now!", shouted Fang as he jumped onto a tree. He then launched himself to an even higher position, and vaulted high above the forest.

"Hey!!! What...?!", shouted Naomi. She then began to follow.

Fang noticed that Naomi was following him into the air. She threw a fireball again, "Giga Flame!" Fang threw several daggers down at Naomi. #THUCK, THUCK, THUCK# #VWHOOSH# Naomi was struck by the daggers, and began to plummet into the forest below. Fang had been hit by the fireball, and was knocked even higher into the air. He pointed a two fingers at Naomi. "Bang.", he said as his upward momentum began to cease. He could no longer see Naomi through the foliage. "DOMINO BOOM!", he shouted. The entire section of forest went up in an explosion of mammoth proportions. The red numbers 1535902 rose from the explosion as the forest began to disappear, and the wasteland reappeared.

. . .

Fang walked to the New Mac Anu save point to see Naomi sitting next to it. "Well, a deal is a deal... #Shudder#...", she said. She gave Fang her member address. Fang began to giggle with glee. "Just one thing.", said Naomi in a serious tone.

"What?"

"If you EVER ask me to cyber with you, I'm gonna report your ass! Got it?"

"Awww...."


	20. Funeral

Chapter 20 Funeral

. . .

"He appears to be stable."

"Brainwaves?"

"Functional in every sense of the word."

"So why is he still in that condition?"

"It's baffling..."

"Have I ever told you I have a bad feeling about this project?"

"Yes, sir, several times..."

. . .

It was early evening in New Mac Anu. The way it always is. Stan sat on the support rail of the bridge and pulled a cigarette from his pocket. He then put it into his mouth. _All this time, and they still haven't made virtual lighters..._, he thought. He never smoked in real life, he just liked the way the cigarette looked on his character. However, to him it always seemed funny to walk around with an unlit cigarette.

_#Sigh# What do I do now?_, he thought. _Deac won't be on 'till tomorrow. Naomi's back, but this time, she has a stalker... Wait a second. I haven't picked up my prize..._ He sprang off the rail and ran to the save point.

"Thank you for your participation in the Cyber Connect Grand Prix!", said the NPC, "Here is your prize!" The NPC handed Stan a small, oil-burning lamp that was gold in color.

"...The hell is this?", said Stan aloud. He stashed it into his inventory.

"Oh, Stan! Thank God it's you!", shouted a voice. Stan turned to see Kenny running towards him.

"Kenny! Long time, no see! What's up?", asked Stan.

Kenny ground to a halt. "It's Cartman and Kyle! Something bad happened!", he seemed panicked.

"Calm down. What happened?"

"Well, we just finished busting Cartman out of the joint so we went to some dungeons to go level and stuff.", explained Kenny, "But in one dungeon, we met some guy..."

Stan's facial expression changed. "What guy?", he hurriedly asked.

"I don't know. He had white hair, wore red clothes, and carried a huge ass blade!"

"What did he do?"

"We tried to fight him, but he totally owned us! He lifted his arm, and used some kind of weird spell or something I've never seen.", he said, "When I got back to town, I couldn't find either of them."

"Did you try to call Carrie and Kyle?", asked Stan, but he already knew the answer.

"I tried that. There was no response! I'm worried.", said Kenny, "You don't think..."

"What?"

"You don't think this has anything to do with that incident all those years ago..."

"Try calling them again.", said Stan.

"Okay." Kenny logged out.

_Cartman and Kyle were World I characters. He's figured out a way around it. He's sending us a message..._, he thought.

ATTENTION PLAYERS: IN MEMORY OF OUR GM TEAM, WE ASK YOU TO JOIN US IN A MOMENT OF SILENCE.

. . .

Tiffany checked her e-mail.

"Greetings Players of World III,

In memory of our GM team, we will be streaming an update at 7:00am PST tomorrow. This was the update that the team had been perfecting prior to their deaths. The update features:

Guild creation

New Special Abilities

Gameplay Re-balancing

Increased Party Size

Item Re-attribution

A new city on a new server (the Rena Server)

As well as several other, less-noticeable features.

Replacing the GM Team will be our team of testers. They will be the new GM Team. We hope that you will show them the same respect and support that you showed the previous team.

Thank you."

_Wow. A new server?_, thought Tiffany, _Well, the Nuke Server was getting a bit boring..._

Tiffany got up from her chair, and plopped into bed...


	21. Trouble

Chapter 21 Trouble

. . .

"Seeing him there like that..."

"What?"

"Makes me wonder if he's already given up."

"Huh?"

"Is he fighting? Why is he fighting? What is he fighting for?"

"Hmph...."

"What?"

"If we knew those answers for ourselves... For our own situations... We just might give up as well."

"Are you suggesting that we're better off not knowing?"

"I'm flat-out saying it."

. . . 

8:30am. Tiffany awakes, staring at the ceiling. _What do I do now?_, she thought, _The Scramble's a crime scene, so it won't be open today. No work. Well, Jack could be awake by now... He's off of work 'cause he's called in sick. Danny... He's a celebrity, and he didn't even tell us... You think you know a guy... New patch and server today. Wonder what the new city will be like. My character has a new look. I kinda liked the old look, but the new look is growing on me... Thanks to the new look, I now have a stalker. God, I hate Fang. How could I have given him my member address...? It wasn't the look, he would have stalked me regardless... I really, really hate that man..._ She reached behind her onto her night stand, retrieved an old, uneaten candy bar, and unwrapped it. _I also hate that Swan character. . ._

She sprang from her bed. _SWAN! That's right! Jack said that he had some information._ She rushed to her computer to check her e-mail.

. . .

"Hey, Tiff, Dan, this is Jack.

Yeah. I'm off to see the new server. Meet me there."

. . .

"Huh?", said Tiffany. She fitted her VR goggles over her head, and logged on.

. . .

Upon inspection of the Chaos Gate, Naomi found that the Rena Server was indeed available for use, and left for it immediately.

. . .

Naomi found herself on a cliff edge staring at a vast ocean. A quick survey of the area revealed that almost every player of World III had staked out a piece of the cliff, and was staring at the ocean.

"HEY, NAOMI!", shouted a voice. It was Deacon Blue's voice.

"Over here!", shouted Stan.

Naomi ran to where they sat, and sat down herself.

"Welcome back. You look nice.", commented Deacon, "So that was your prize?"

"More or less.", replied Naomi, "What's going on here?"

"Oh, that's right. You've never seen one of these.", said Deacon, "This is the future site of a Root Town."

"Yeah.", said Stan, "It's one of those things World III players try not to miss. Which is why I blew off my shoot today."

"What?", asked Naomi.

"Yeah. But it's not a problem.", Stan answered, "Besides, with the media coverage of that little incident yesterday, and the fact that the tabloids are hyping that I could've been dead yesterday, all I had to do was say 'I can't work like this', and I got the day off."

"This will be the third one I've seen.", said Deacon, "The first was on the Balmung server, and the second was on the Mimiru server. I missed the one on the Natsume server, though."

"Deac, you said you found some info on Swan. What'd you find out?", inquired Naomi.

"Almost everything.", said Deacon. "It turns out that I was approaching this all wrong. Instead of checking records to see who was behind his account, I should've checked to see who was footing the bill for his account. And, I did."

"So, who's paying for the account?", asked Stan.

"Uncle Sam."

"What?"

"That alone made it that much easier to track Swan down.", continued Deacon, "Remember when the World I servers closed for good? Well, that was just the legitimate World I servers. That didn't stop people with private servers from operating the game. Since pirate servers are indeed illegal, they had to keep said operations a secret. However, these private servers tend to have more lax security than the real deal. So, it was just a matter of finding out who Swan is. And, that's where the shocker comes into play."

"This is getting interesting...", said Naomi.

"'Swan' was the name of a military project.", said Deacon, "Around the time of the early period of the millennium, they started experimenting with bio-technology. One of these experiments was to see if they could connect the human brain to the internet. The reason for doing this was for soldiers to have information at their beck and call at all times. Another experiment was for a complex AI called 'Dao-shi', and yet another experiment was for a system called 'Jiang-shi'. Project Swan was the combination of all three experiments. However, There were two other projects. Project 'Duck' was to see if they could integrate two of the experiments (namely Dao-shi and Jiang-shi), and Project 'Goose' was the initial experiment for the brain-internet connection thing."

"And...?", said Stan.

"Project 'Goose' was a success, and Project 'Duck' was a success. However, Project 'Swan' is up in the air.", continued Deacon, "To understand why it failed, an explanation of Dao-shi and Jiang-shi is in order. Dao-shi is a highly advanced Artificial Intelligence system used in conjunction with Jiang-shi, which is a system of nano-machines. With out one, the other is worthless. Here's how it works, it's first function is to deaden the pain of wounds, and aid in the repair of damaged tissue. It's second function activates once the host body dies. The nano-machines gather mostly in the brain, and generate enough voltage to simulate a living body, and operate the body as if it is living. Using the AI, Dao-shi, the body then gets up and continues to fight for a brief period of time. So, in effect, it makes corpse puppets much like those of it's namesake."

"But, that still doesn't explain who Swan is.", said Stan.

"I was getting to that. Swan is a man in a coma in a military hospital, but beyond that, I don't know. I don't know his real name, or where the hospital is, or why if 'Duck' and 'Goose' succeeded did 'Swan' not succeed. But, hey, at least we know something about him which makes him a lot less dangerous.", said Deacon as he crossed his arms.

"You may want to reconsider that.", said Stan. "Remember Kyle and Cartwright?"

"Yeah...", said Naomi. She looked peeved.

"Swan got them."

"WHAT?", exclaimed Deacon, "They were World I characters!"

"Yeah, well tell that to Swan. I guess he's found a way around it.", said Stan.

"Crap. If this is true... We may need to contact 'him'.", said Deacon.

"Please tell me you're talking about Nash.", said Naomi.

"No. We have to enlist the services of the elite hacker, Mastah Pimp."

"Oh no...", she said as she buried her face into her hands.

Suddenly, a voice shouted, "Look! It's starting!"

Everyone averted his/her gaze to the expanse of sea before them. A mass of land rose from the water, and made the sea into nothing more than a river. Hills began to form, and grass began to grow. From the sky fell numerous cobblestones, and formed paths and roads. Wooden beams shot from the clouds, and lodged themselves into the ground. From the beams grew walls, and from the walls grew roofs. Trees instantaneously sprouted from the ground, and a water wheel attached itself to a building.

The result was a town filled with houses of the old German style. The walls were all shades of white with the wooden beams used for rectilinear exterior design.

Suddenly, all of the observers were teleported into the town. The yellow text:

WELCOME TO WURZELSTADT.

"Wow." said Deacon Blue, "This sure is a nice looking place." He looked around.

"Yeah.", said Naomi, "Let's just find Mastah Pimp, and get this over with."

A voice behind them yelled, "Top 'o the morning, $!%#&es! The Mastah Pimp is here! Celebrate the new town with some cyber action from the finest #%&s the World has to offer." Naomi, Deacon, and Stan looked behind them to see a fair-skinned man with orange hair, and his eyes were obscured by his shades. He carried a heavy-looking ornate wooden cane, and wore a black shirt, with a long-tailed, pinstriped, purple blazer draped over his shoulders with matching pants and hat. At the top of his hat was an audacious-looking yellow feather. He walked with an arrogant, rhythmic swagger, and talked with an Irish accent. Two female characters followed him. One of them, a Heavy Axeman, wore a tight-fitting red dress that was seemingly wrapped around her straight from a Saran Wrap package. She had reddish-brown hair, deep-brown eyes, and carried a Golden Axe. The other character was a Blade Master who wore a tight-fitting black leotard with thick, strategically placed leather belts, deep blue hair, and grey eyes. She carried a rather expensive looking sword.

". . . This is going to be trouble.", said Naomi.


	22. Find

Chapter 22 Find

. . .

"So, you're cutting the funding?"

"Look at him! He's a vegetable. This project was a failure!"

"NO!"

"What?"

"I said 'no'!"

"Who do you think you are, little lady?"

"This project doesn't fail until the subject dies!"

"Let's get one thing clear. I don't care who you are. If you interfere with the way my business is run, I'll kill you."

"Well... That was pleasant..."

. . .

Naomi leaned towards Deacon, and whispered, "This is World III, and they still haven't been able to get around his foul language filter hack?"

Mastah Pimp walked over to where they stood. "Deacon Blue. 'Tis been a long time. What are ye up to these days?", inquired Mastah Pimp.

"Like always, we're after a bounty.", said Deacon, "You cruise the boards, right? You had to have heard of these 'incidents'."

"Yeah, yeah, I know what yer talking about. So-called 'mysterious disappearances' at the hand of some figure in red."

"So, you know...", said Stan.

"Of course I know, fool.", said Mastah Pimp, "That bastard got Irene, one of my best cyber #$&s. Now, I can't even get me favorite pimp cane back."

Deacon's eyes averted themselves as he pushed up his sunglasses. "Well, Irene's player is dead. As well as a heap of other players."

"How do ye know this?"

"Well, the thing is, you can know, too.", said Deacon Blue, "That's why we were about to search for you."

Mastah Pimp clapped his hands, and the two female characters next to him seemed to become alert. "Go drum up some business.", he said. The two female characters left his side, and ran off to mingle with the crowd.

"Ye need me to search for some info, correct?", said Mastah Pimp.

"Yeah.", said Deacon Blue. "I seem to have hit a dead-end in my searches. I'll transfer some files to you, as well as what I need done. Will you do it?"

Mastah Pimp touched the brim of his hat. "As ye know, I'm constantly searching for new talent.", he said as he walked over to Naomi. He leaned down a bit to look her in the face. "What a fine, young woman.", he continued, "On one condition; she joins with me"

"It's –!", began Naomi.

"HEY!", said a familiar voice, "You leave her alone!" Fang appeared from thin air. "Naomi doesn't want to be involved in that kind of thing!"

Mastah Pimp looked surprised for a second, and quickly regained his composure. "Oh. It's her.", he said. "Okay, Deacon, send yer files."

"Thanks.", replied Deacon Blue. Deacon, Stan, and Naomi turned to walk in the other direction.

"So, Fang,"said Mastah Pimp, "I gather ye came here to ask something as well?"

"Yeah, Is Karen logged on?", asked Fang as he tapped his knuckle with his finger.

"Follow me."

. . .

JackSprat: OK! I sent the files. We'll just have to see what develops.

SexyTiff2509: So, now we wait...

JackSprat: And, you, Danny...

STANspark: Yes, I'm Danny Carter.

JackSprat: You didn't tell us. though it explains a lot...

STANspark: Well, now you know.

JackSprat: You do know that your last movie sucked, right?

JackSprat: What were you thinking? Your other movies were so great...

STANspark: FOR THE LAST TIME! IT WAS THE WRITERS' FAULT!

SexyTiff2509: I don't think the writers can be blamed for unusually bad, stiff, unnatural acting...

JackSprat: True.

STANspark: touche. . .

SexyTiff2509: The only thing that made me not demand my money back was that nude scene...

SexyTiff2509: Nice butt, btw.

STANspark: . . .

STANspark: on a different subject, we've wrapped up shooting in NY.

STANspark: Guess where we'll be shooting next?

JackSprat: ???

STANspark: Chicago!

SexyTiff2509: Wow! You'll be shooting here?!

STANspark: Yeah! I'll be there tomorrow!

SexyTiff2509: . . .

STANspark: Um, can you pick me up from the airport?

SexyTiff2509: Doesn't the studio pay for those things?!

STANspark: Well, that's kinda the thing... In order to stay in budget,

STANspark: They kinda stopped paying for my expenses.

SexyTiff2509: So they caught on to you, eh?

STANspark: Yeah...

SexyTiff2509: You're trying to keep from hiring a chauffeur, aren't you!?

STANspark: (;)

JackSprat: Well, now that I think about it, I'm kinda overdue for a vacation...

JackSprat: It might be just what the doctor ordered...

SexyTiff2509: Huh?

JackSprat: Well, I haven't taken a vacation since I started working at the FBI. As a matter of fact, today was my first sick day... Ever.

JackSprat: I may need a vacation "doctor's orders"...

JackSprat: Paid, of course...

SexyTiff2509: You want to be picked up from the airport, too, don't you?

JackSprat: Yes, please... (;)


	23. Airport

Chapter 23 Airport

. . .

"We will now review bill number10629358, which includes... What? Funding for project 'Swan'?"

"Yes! The project – ..."

"Senator Williams, you are aware that the funding was to be cut immediately. Attempting to sneak this in... I don't even know what to say about this. If you want the project to receive funding, then you will have to go through the proper channels."

"Now you see here! I didn't just – HEY!"

"Remove her from these proceedings."

"You can't do this!"

. . .

4 a.m. The surroundings are still and quiet. The occasional passerby or security guard provides small blurbs of noise. Even the janitors are nowhere to be found. The only shops open are the duty-free shop and Starbucks. In Starbucks, a lone figure sits on a stool, looking through the glass at the lack of traffic in O'Hare Airport. She nurses a small coffee, black, taking small sips every once in a while. "Ma'am, you'll either have to buy another coffee, or wait somewhere else...", said the employee on duty as he swept the floor next to the stool.

The Asian woman turned to look at the man, and she looked tired. She had black hair that seemed to have been hastily clipped by a blue, plastic hairpin in the back. She wore a loose-fitting, khaki-colored T-shirt with worn, loose-fitting jeans, and had a half-zipped, heavy, gray winter coat at her waist. Next to her stool, leaned a large piece of cardboard. She reached into the small purse dangling from her shoulder, and pulled out a ten dollar bill. "Okay, okay. Here, and please make sure it's stronger this time. I feel like I'm drinking hot water."

"#Ding, ding, Dong!# Flight 6535 from Seattle, Washington has arrived. Thank you.", announced the voice on the intercom.

The woman looked above the square at the flight-tracker. She then reached down, grabbed the cardboard, and put it in the window. The cardboard read:

DEACON STAN

in big, quickly written letters. "Here's your coffee, miss.", said the man as he handed her another small coffee. "And, here's your change..." He handed her a quarter which she then placed onto the counter in front of her.

Some minutes passed, and people began to walk past the Starbucks from the baggage claim. The young woman sat with her head in her arms, coffee going cold in front of her. A middle aged man stepped through the door, and said, "Oh, hello. I'm Deacon Bob Stan. You must be from the convention..." She looked up, and retrieved a permanent marker from her purse. She then grabbed the cardboard, flipped it around, made a mark on it, and put it back into the window. "Sorry. Mistake.", she said. The sign now read: DEACON / STAN. As the man walked out, another man walked in.

"Tiffany Izen?", inquired the man. Tiffany turned to look at the man. She found herself looking at a black man who appeared to be in his early twenties, like her. He was about six-five, and wearing a Phoenix Coyotes sweatshirt, a heavy-looking leather coat, and jeans. His hair was cut short, and he had a two-day stubble. He carried a backpack, a garment bag, and a duffel bag. "Er, did I get the wrong Starbucks? I could've sworn she said the east wing...", he began to look at his airport map.

"Jack Willows?", she responded.

"Yeah?", he said.

"You never said – ..." she began.

"Never came up.", said Jack.

"You know, I'm getting that answer a lot lately..." She smiled, still looking tired.

"Mind if I sit down?"

"Sure."

Jack sat in the stool next to Tiffany, reached into his backpack, and pulled out his laptop.

"Want a coffee?", asked Tiffany.

"Nah. I don't drink the stuff. Don't like the taste..."

"Hey, buddy! You gonna buy something?", asked the employee behind them.

"He gets really touchy if you don't buy anything...", said Tiffany as she took a sip of her now lukewarm coffee.

"Sure.", said Jack, "Whatever you have that doesn't taste like coffee."

"Sir, this is Starbucks, everything tastes like coffee."

"Okay... What tastes the least like coffee?"

"We sell a chocolate bar that kinda doesn't taste like coffee..."

"Fine, I'll take it. How much?"

"Five dollars."

Jack looked displeased. He glanced over at Tiffany. She stared ahead, shrugged her shoulders, and began to chug her small coffee. Jack paid the man. The man went to the counter, picked up a chocolate bar, and walked back to hand it to Jack.

"So, how long 'till Danny gets here?", asked Jack.

"His flight should be in by noon...", replied Tiffany.

"I see...", he turned on his laptop, broke a small piece of the chocolate bar off, and ate it. "Yuck. This is horrible... You want it?"

"Sure." Jack handed her the chocolate bar. To him, she looked half-sleep.

"So, I'm guessing you're not a morning person...", said Jack.

"God, I hate mornings...", she yawned. She took a bite of her chocolate bar.

"So, like, we wait here?"

"Yes."

"Hey! Are you two gonna buy something?", shouted the man.

Jack and Tiffany both looked at each other, then at the man. "Is McDonald's open?", asked Jack. Tiffany took a look at her watch. "Well, it's now after five o'clock. They should be...", replied Tiffany.

Jack powered-down his laptop, and put it back into his backpack. Tiffany grabbed the piece of cardboard. After Jack had gathered his bags, they both left Starbucks, and walked across the square to McDonald's.

. . .

9 a.m. People travel hurriedly through the airport as boarding calls are announced. Various squeaks and crashes accompany this rush. Tiffany and Jack sit on stools at the counter overlooking the traffic of the square. Tiffany's make-shift sign sits in the window.

"...So, you honestly believe your dog understands what you say?", asked Tiffany. She was more awake.

"Yes.", replied Jack as he typed on his keyboard, "He was pretty bummed out when he heard that he had to stay at my sister's place... He hates it there because she feeds him tofu dog food."

"Wow.", Tiffany just finished her coffee. "I'm gonna get another coffee. You want something?", she asked as she started to get up from the stool.

Jack looked slightly surprised. "That's the tenth coffee I've seen you drink. Don't you think you've had enough...?"

"Nah...", said Tiffany.

"Okay... Don't you get the jitters, though?", he asked.

"Nope. Nerves of steel.", she replied. She held her hand out. It was not moving.

Jack looked slightly perplexed. Tiffany walked back to the counter to order another coffee.

. . .

12:50 p.m. The airport is officially crowded. Tiffany finishes another coffee.

"That's thirty... You going for a world record?", mused Jack.

"Where is Danny?", asked Tiffany, "His flight landed about an hour ago..."

A man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties, wearing a 49ers coat ran into the McDonald's holding a briefcase, a duffel bag, and what appeared to be a bag for a laptop. He was slightly winded. His red hair peeked from beneath his Yankees baseball cap, and slightly obscured his brown eyes. Tiffany squinted as she looked at the man "Danny?", asked Tiffany.

"Tiff?", Danny replied.

"What happened to you?! Where have you been?", she asked.

"You said the east wing Starbucks!", he said, "I didn't find you there, so I searched the north, south, and west wing Starbucks!"

"Oh... Whoops...", said Tiffany.

"It wouldn't have been wise (or cost-effective) to stay,"said Jack as he powered down his laptop, "the guy there was being a jerk."

"Jack?", said Danny.

"Yeah?", Jack replied.

"It never came up...", interjected Tiffany.

"Oh... How's your vacation?", asked Danny.

"Well, so far, I've seen the scenic square just outside of this Mickey D's.", answered Jack.

Tiffany laughed. "Ready to go?", she asked.

. . .

They arrived at Tiffany's car. It was a black '99 Isuzu Rodeo. There was a slight discoloration on the back bumper.

"This is your car... Nice.", said Jack, "It's in pretty good condition for such an old car."

"Yeah. I've been keeping it in a parking garage for a long time. Public transit costs less than gas, you know.", she said. "It has some slight engine trouble, but runs well enough to use on occasion."

"I would imagine so...", said Danny. She unlocked the doors, and the two men loaded their bags into the back. They all got into the car.

"So, who wants to get something to eat?", asked Danny.

"Didn't you eat on the plane?", asked Jack.

"Nah. Costs extra.", Danny replied.

"Well, I haven't eaten since breakfast...", began Jack.

"Fine, fine... Where do you guys want to go for lunch?", asked Tiffany as she turned the key in the ignition.

"Know of any good pizza joints?", asked Danny and Jack at the same time.

"PIZZA!", replied Jack and Danny, hastily. They high-fived each other.


	24. Invite

Chapter 24 Invite

. . .

"... I'm trying my best to stall for time. I know you may not be able to hear me, but I love you. Why did I become a senator? Why did I sell my soul? Why am I desperate? Simple. To save the man I love. And, that's why I'm still here. I'll protect you with this. It's not much, and neither am I, but it's all I have. All I need. I'll give it all I am, darling..."

. . .

A short, bearded man sits behind a counter near the far wall. On the wooden walls within the small place are autographed pictures of celebrities of times past. A giant oven, with only a couple of pizzas inside, hums as the shelves within rotate. A delivery man in a heavy coat sits at a table in front of an empty, insulated pizza case tapping his finger on the tabletop. Eating at the only other table in the modest-looking restaurant was Jack, Tiffany, and Danny.

"Mmpfgh!", said Jack as he took a bite of his slice of sausage pizza. "Good stuff. Who knew they had pizza this good in a hole-in-the-wall..." He used his free hand to type on his laptop.

Tiffany finished chewing. "Around here, holes-in-the-wall are the only places to get the decent stuff.", she said.

"HEY! I'm right here!", said the bearded man behind the counter. They all looked at him, then continued to eat.

"Say, Jack," began Danny, "You've been on that laptop since we got here. What are you doing?"

"Analyzing some data.", replied Jack.

"Oh?", said Tiffany.

"Mastah Pimp works quick. The info I needed had been e-mailed to me by the time I reached McDonald's.", he took another bite of his slice.

"So you've had it that long? Why didn't you say anything?", asked Danny.

"He works quick, but is notorious for not giving you everything. I'm just checking his work..."

"I see...", said Tiffany.

"But, this isn't like him. Everything seems to be here, and then some..."

Danny scooted his chair around to see the screen. "Huh? Whatcha got?", he asked. Tiffany leaned to see the screen.

"Well, according to this, our mystery man has a name: Jason Saint. Looks like he's in his late forties. He was a rookie in the Marines until he received a life-threatening injury during an armed conflict years ago. That's when he volunteered for the project. For a while, it seemed that he was doing fine. Until he inexplicably fell into a coma. Since then, he's been in a military hospital in Nevada."

"What now?", asked Danny, "Do we go to Nevada and pull the plug?"

"That would be difficult considering that he's in a MILITARY hospital. We wouldn't even get through the front door...", replied Tiffany.

"She's right. Also, according to this, it looks like the funding for project 'Swan' is running low. Shouldn't last more than another week at the most...", said Jack. "It looks like it should have run out years ago, but someone kept diverting funds into the project."

"Who?", asked the bearded man at the counter. The three looked at him for a brief second, and looked back at the screen. Jack pecked a couple of keys.

"Holy...", he began, "Senator Christine Williams."

Tiffany and Danny looked at Jack in surprise.

"Do... Do you know what we have here?", asked Jack, "Considering that this is an election year, we're holding 'Instant Win-Quick' for whomever is going to run against her."

"Um, hold on a second," said Danny, "How could she divert the funds? Do they have that kind of power?"

"Well, looking at this, it would seem that she had to extort, bribe, and even sleep her way into funding the project. What we hold could potentially ruin the political careers of at least half of all of the high-ranking politicians in the country...", said Jack.

"Just how deep does this go?", asked Tiffany.

"Looks like it stops just short of the President.", replied Jack.

"WHOA! Oh my god! That deep?! Is our democracy a farce?!", exclaimed the bearded man at the counter. Tiffany, Danny, and Jack angrily looked at the man.

The delivery man leaned in, and said, "Hey, you guys care to join our group? We've been looking for a way to take down 'The Man' for a while..."

"NO!", they all replied.

The delivery man leaned back, and continued to tap his finger on the tabletop.

"Why all of the trouble to insure the success of that one project?", asked Danny.

"That's here, too...", Jack pecked a couple more keys. "Hmmm... Well, isn't this simple?"

"What?"

"They're married."

"Weird.", said Tiffany.

"Okay...", said Danny, "That's nice and all, but that doesn't explain how or why our psychopathic, comatose friend can kill us!"

"Well, it looks like that's what this random data is for... Wait a second... These are player surveillance logs!", said Jack as he began to type frenetically, "Okay... We just run this here, and..."

The screen went black for a second. Suddenly, an image flashed across the screen. A lone Heavy Blade in gray clothing ran across the screen. "Hmm... Which way should I go?", said the white-haired Heavy Blade as he came to a cross area. He appeared to be in a dungeon. "That way." He went left. "If my research is right, then something should happen right about... Now!" Out of nowhere, a girl with white hair in loose, white clothing shot past him. He watched as she vanished into the dead end at the other side of the cross area. Without warning, something huge, humanoid in shape and holding a giant red wand-like object, whizzed past, knocking the Heavy Blade to the floor. It also vanished into the dead end. "Hmmm... The Phases must be a constant. Same Phase... So, it must be using a different character..."

. . .

"'Phase'?", asked Tiffany.

"I'm not too keen on the particulars, but from what I've read, Phases were part of some poem called 'The Epitaph of Twilight', or something.", explained Jack, "Now, this is just a rumor, but it has been said that there was an AI or something that somehow created 'Phases'. Judging by the appearance of that thing, it seems that it's the Phase referred to as 'Skeith'."

"'Skeith'?", said Danny, "What kind of name – ...?"

"Shh! Something's happening.", said Jack as he pointed to the screen.

. . .

The screen went blank for a split second. The Heavy Blade was standing in front of the white haired girl. She handed him a book. "... Can bring salvation or destruction..." was heard. Just then, Skeith appeared. The Heavy Blade was being lifted into the air by an unseen force as Skeith extended his right arm. Then, a familiar-looking spiral of parallel lines shot from the Phase's arm and stabbed the man's body. The Heavy Blade fell to the ground, and lay there lifeless for a couple of seconds. After staggering to his feet, the man opened the book immediately. The screen went white as the man began to cackle.

When the picture had returned, Swan, now clothed in red, had thrust a giant mysterious-looking sword through Skeith. Green hexagons flew off of the Phase as the Heavy Blade's right arm began to shine. "DATA DRAIN!", shouted the Heavy Blade. A spiral of multicolored, parallel lines shot from his arm and pierced Skeith. The screen went white again.

When the picture had returned again, Swan was alone, standing in a void of white space. "Morganna!", he shouted, "The jig is up! I've destroyed all of your little tin soldiers! You know what I want! You know what I've come for!" He paused, and started to laugh, "I've come to assimilate you!"

A woman's voice sounded, "What makes you think you can do that?"

"Come, now... You're an AI. There's no use in playing dumb. You know that you can't defeat me. I've beaten badder AI's than you. Come on out!"

Just then, a swirl of light appeared in front of Swan. He readied his stance and said, "Let's dance!"

. . .

"Jack?", asked Tiffany.

"What?"

"Is there some kind of explanation for what we've just seen?"

Jack typed frantically. "Let's see...", he said, "Not a thing. But, we can draw some conclusions."

"What?", asked Tiffany.

"Well, first, we can conclude that Swan did beat 'Morganna' because he's still around causing trouble.", explained Jack, "Second, we can conclude that Saint was in a coma prior to the events we've just witnessed..."

"Why is that?", asked Danny.

"Well, if what I've read about 'Data Drain' is correct, the way it worked relied somewhat on the consciousness of the target. When we play the game, our consciousness is divided between the real world, and The World III. This is where it all begins to blur into gray. However, our 'friend' has no consciousness in the real world which is why he was able to shrug off being 'Data Drained'. So, to him, it's just as simple as black and white..."

"In English?", said Danny.

"He was already in a coma, so he couldn't be put into one."

"Oh. So, like, why is it that his 'Data Drain' can kill people instead of simply putting them into comas?"

"I was getting to that.", said Jack, "We can also conclude that he's taken over the AI 'Dao-shi'. Remember what I was telling you about the 'first function, second function' thing? Well, it turns out that I got the order of those mixed up. When the AI was first thought up, it's only function was to create corpse puppets. However, the government didn't seem to be buying it, so he added another function to it; the 'healing function'. However, in terms of the amount of time spent, this 'healing function' was comparatively trivial, and can truly be considered a secondary function. First and foremost, The AI 'Dao-shi' was always meant to be a killer, and I'm guessing that under Saint's direction, the 'Data Drain' ability was modified by the AI to become lethal."

Tiffany picked up another slice of pizza. "So, that's what we're dealing with? Why is he doing all of this?", she asked.

Jack powered down his laptop. "That I don't know.", he said.

Suddenly, several cell phone chimes could be heard. The three quickly grabbed their cell phones, and answered.

"Hello?"

"Carter here."

"This is Willows."

A gruff, eerie voice giggled on the other end. "Hello... Let's play a game... I believe we'll call it 'Duck, Duck, Goose'!"

Jack, Tiffany, and Danny looked at each other, as the man hung-up. "Cyber café, now.", said Jack as he shoveled his laptop into his backpack, and tossed some money on the table.

"But, the nearest one is downtown!", said Tiffany.

"WHAT?", said Jack, "In my hometown, you can't walk a mile without tripping over one." He and Tiffany grabbed their coats, and bolted to the door.

"Come on, Danny! Let's go!", shouted Tiffany.

Danny was already at the door, when he paused, ran back to the table, grabbed the last of the pizza, and ran out of the door.

. . .

Wurzelstadt. A lone figure floats in the clear daytime sky above. His white hair and loose red clothing blew in the high winds while his cold, gray eyes surveyed the multitude below him.

"Time to liven things up around here...", said Swan. He raised his sword. "BREAKING WAVE!" He swung his sword, releasing a giant, sweeping wave of energy. Green hexagons filled the air as the energy pulse made its way through the root town. At the far edge of the root town, the wave had stopped. "WHAT?!", exclaimed Swan in disbelief.

Standing with his heavy cane raised against the wave was Mastah Pimp. With a simple motion, he had neutralized the wave.

"I see that the crickets are out.", said Swan.

"Cheep, cheep, mother #&$%er.", replied Mastah Pimp. He waved his cane and a golden aura formed around him.

. . .

The expressway. Cars were backed-up as far as the eye could see. "COME ON!!", shouted Tiffany.

"This sucks.", said Danny as he finished another slice of pizza.

"Hey, Dan, hand me a slice, won't you?", asked Jack as he extended his arm behind him to the back seat.

"Er, I can't... That was the last piece.", replied Danny.

"THERE WAS JUST OVER HALF OF THE PIZZA LEFT!", shouted Tiffany.

"Um, sorry...", said Danny in a sheepish manner.


	25. Virus

Chapter 25 Virus

. . .

"Do you remember the day we met? You had just completed basic training, and had some time off. It was a nice, cozy café with a lot of randomly placed pictures on the walls. You looked kind of upset when I first saw you, but I went to speak to you anyway. You were upset that your friends had gone out to drink, but you weren't twenty-one yet. Sitting there, speaking to you, I felt as if I had known you all of my life. Then... Then, you smiled. That smile. The smile that warmed my heart, and brightened my days. I wish I could see that smile again. Just one more time..."

. . .

"Ready?", asked Mastah Pimp as he extended his cane towards Swan. "CHARGE!"

From every nearby building rushed female characters. About thirty in number. Mastah Pimp began to spin his cane. "Ability ENHANCE!" He lifted his arms.

Immediately, the small army of female characters began to float in the air, and charge Swan. Swan readied himself, and began to giggle.

. . .

The expressway. Cars are still lined up. Horns honk, and tempers flare. "I hate the expressway.", said Tiffany. She looked over at Jack. He was staring out of the window at the sky.

"You look like something's on your mind.", she said.

Jack turned to her, and asked, "He said 'Duck, Duck, Goose', right?"

"Yeah.", replied Tiffany. "Why?"

Jack turned around in his seat to face Danny. "Hey, Danny, can you hand me my laptop?"

"Eh?", he replied, "Oh, sure." He reached back to retrieve Jack's backpack. He carefully removed the laptop, and handed it to Jack.

"Thanks.", said Jack. He began to power-up the laptop.

. . .

A female Twin Blade launched an attack. Swan dodged, and swung his humongous blade. Green hexagons flew off of the Twin Blade as she plummeted to the ground. _What? He's not dealing damage. That's the fifth one that's gone down, and I haven't seen a red number yet..._, thought Mastah Pimp. "Moira.", said Mastah Pimp.

"Yes, master?", replied a distant sounding voice.

"Record all that happens here, analyze it, and send it to Deacon Blue on my mark. Got it?", he commanded.

"Yes, master.", said the voice.

"Good."

Swan extended his right arm at the five fallen female characters as it began to glow. "Data Drain: Arc", Suddenly, five spirals of parallel lines shot from his arm and pierced the female character models on the ground below. They screamed as they began to pixelate, then disintegrate.

By now, everyone within the town was panicking, and running through the streets.

"Log out!", yelled Mastah Pimp at the females floating in the air. Swan's sword split into two once more.

Before any of them could comply, Swan disappeared.

"Dammit! LOG OUT!", he yelled. Before he had finished the sentence, green hexagons began to fly off of all of the characters in the air.

Swan appeared right next to Mastah Pimp, looking into the sky with his arms crossed. "Amazing, isn't it?", he asked, giggling. He extended his arm...

. . .

Tiffany looked over at Jack. As he typed frenetically, he asked, "So, Tiff, what do you do?"

"Well, I'm a college student.", she replied, "I'm taking the quarter off, though. Lately, I've been working at the arcade."

"College, eh?", said Jack, "God, I wish I could go back, sometimes. Having fun? What's your major?"

"Visual Communications.", she answered, "What do you mean by 'go back'?"

"Huh? Oh. I graduated a while ago."

"How long?", asked Danny.

"Hmm... Let's see... I'm now twenty-two. Which means that I graduated... five years ago. Wow. Time sure does fly.", said Jack.

"You were seventeen when you graduated?", she asked.

"Yep."

"What do you do? Exactly? I know you work for the FBI, but I've never heard any specifics.", said Tiffany.

"Well, now, I just maintain the FBI's servers. They snatched me up immediately after my graduation. Though, server maintenance was not originally part of my job description. My specialty was Artificial Intelligence.", he explained as he continued to type, "When I first joined, I was working on algorithms for an AI that would protect computers from being hacked by counter-hacking. It was pretty good, too. If I must say so myself. The only problem is that it had a 99.99% rate of success."

"That's pretty good.", said Danny.

"I would have thought so too if it hadn't encountered that rogue .01% so soon in its life cycle.", said Jack, "The main problem was that two people were able to hack into it without much of a problem. The first being Mastah Pimp (he left a calling card). The second is unknown. The second attack being the most brutal. It destroyed the program, but not before copying it. For some odd reason, our tracers wouldn't work. After that, all of us working on the project were either fired or assigned to maintain servers."

"I see... Did you ever find out who performed the second hack?", asked Tiffany.

"Well, I suspect that our friend Saint did it.", said Jack.

"Huh?"

"Think about it.", began Jack, "The World I servers were shutdown some five years ago. Until a few months ago, everyone was playing World II. After World III came out, 20 million of the estimated 40 million World II players migrated to World III, but players needed to obtain a randomly generated keyword to import their characters as well as fifteen dollars. Now, when I checked to see who was footing Swan's bill, not one time did I ever see a fifteen dollar charge for character transferral. Even Mastah Pimp had to pay to transfer his character. So, how could Swan get from a pirate server to the official World III servers? I'm guessing that he or the AI 'Dao-shi' modified the program. When we were first testing the counter-hacking function of our AI we would hack into the World I and II servers all of the time. This was during the time when they had god-like security. At the time, it was the security system of security systems. It doesn't seem too farfetched to me to believe that Saint was behind the second hack job."

"I think I see where you're going...", said Danny. "So, like, he assimilated your program as well."

Jack stopped typing. "Bingo!"

"I was right.", said Danny.

"Well, yeah... Plus, I found what I was searching for...", replied Jack.

. . .

With his golden aura aflare, Mastah Pimp took to the air, and Swan gave chase. The pimp twirled his cane, and pointed it at the pursuant Swan. "Nuclear Beam!", shouted Mastah Pimp. From the cane he fired a beam of light that exploded on contact. The red numbers 3204 rose from the explosion. Swan, seemingly unfazed continued his pursuit, and slashed Mastah Pimp higher into the air. The red numbers 0324 rose from his previous position.

_Huh?_, he thought as he stared at the fading numbers. Flying further into the sky, he twirled his cane again, and raised it into the air. Many balls of light began to surround the purple-clad pimp. "Blitz Bomber!", he shouted as he turned, and fired all of the light balls at Swan.

Still chasing Mastah Pimp, Swan used his blade to slice through as many of the light balls as he could, but the final ball hit him in a great explosion. The red numbers 350 appeared. With great speed, he shot at Mastah Pimp and performed a horizontal slash. Above Mastah Pimp, the crimson numbers 503 ascended from his person. Swan proceeded to slash in a diagonal fashion. Mastah Pimp blocked. Swan pushed in an effort to break the pimp's guard.

_I see. So he deals damage dependent upon the amount of damage dealt to him. The numbers just switch around. So, If I did five thousand damage to him, he could theoretically reciprocate it, or it could only do five damage, or even just fifty._, thought the pimp. Mastah Pimp pushed Swan back, and charged him to attack with his cane. Blocked. Swan slashed at Mastah Pimp. Dodged. Mastah Pimp thrust his cane at Swan. Parried.

. . .

"Project 'Duck' had two subjects. These two people happen to play World III.", said Jack, "but what gets me, is 'Goose'."

"What do you mean?", asked Tiffany.

"It says that the subject of 'Goose' believes that he's contracted some kind of unknown virus that seems to be degenerating his health.", explained Jack, "But, the thing is, he claims that his condition seems to be worsening on a daily basis."

"What exactly is wrong with him?", asked Danny.

Jack began to type again. "What isn't wrong with him would be the better question. According to his medical reports, he tells doctors that he goes completely blind on occasion, he feels anemic from time to time, he becomes unable to digest food, hearing loss, loss of sense of touch, nausea, dizziness, the list goes on. But, when they check him out, they find nothing wrong with him. So they've diagnosed him with hypochondria."

"Wait. I thought you said that 'Goose' was a success.", said Danny.

"It was.", replied Jack, "According to the medical evaluations, they haven't been able to find a link between these problems and the experiment. The subject seemed fine, so the project was deemed a success. However, I think that evaluation was a mistake."

"No kidding.", said Tiffany, "So, the question becomes 'why are the nano-machines making him ill?'."

"Apparently, his problems don't just end with his physical condition.", said Jack, "According to this psychological evaluation, he's been seeing things both in his dreams and while awake. The most common vision, he describes as some kind of large monster in the night sky. They asked him to draw it..."

Jack turned the screen so that Danny and Tiffany could see it. It indeed looked like a monster. It was a head on top of an inverted pyramid-looking structure with arms jutting out from the sides. From the pyramid-like structure grew what looked to them like roots. The head had what looked like spiky hair, and a large mouth with many pointy teeth.

. . .

Mastah Pimp lunged at Swan with a flurry of attacks. All of which were either blocked or dodged by the Heavy Blade. Swan countered. Mastah Pimp blocked, and threw Swan off balance. He quickly twirled his cane and shot another beam at Swan. Swan deflected the beam and moved to rush Mastah Pimp. The purple pimp glided aside as Swan flew past. Mastah Pimp used his momentum to continue in that direction to create some space. He rapidly twirled his cane and released a mighty wind. Within the wind swirled leaves that grew in number, and began to form a whirlwind. "GIANT DWARF, COME FORTH!", shouted Mastah Pimp. The wind suddenly stopped, and the leaves fell to the ground far below. Floating in the air was a humanoid. It appeared to be fifteen feet tall. It had a muscular build, with stubby legs and arms. It's painted chest was bare, and its green pointy hat and loincloth flowed in the wind. It wielded a giant hammer with monstrous claws on one end, and it was rapidly approaching Swan.

It swung its mighty hammer in a horizontal fashion. Swan flew higher in the air to avoid it. The Giant Dwarf swung his hammer again, claw end first, in an effort to catch Swan. Using his free arm, Swan vaulted off of the hammer into a spinning flip.#BANG#. Mastah Pimp had hit Swan with a beam. 1320. "Blitz Bomber!", shouted Mastah Pimp as he prepared to attack again.

Swan, looking quite surprised, began to rush Mastah Pimp. He hadn't noticed, however, that the Giant Dwarf had sneaked behind him. #WHACK# The Dwarf had hit Swan in the back with an overhead swing from his hammer. For a second, it seemed that time had stopped. Light emanated from the point of impact, and exploded, sending Swan on an expedited free fall to the ground below. 5000.

Swan was barely able to stop himself from hitting the ground. He turned to look at the pimp floating in the sky above. Coming at him was an innumerable amount of light balls followed by the monstrous Dwarf. "DATA DRAIN: NEUTRALIZE!" He shouted. Instantly, a force field surrounded him, and spread outwards. The summon and all of the light balls disappeared. Mastah Pimp looked dismayed. The onlookers populating the streets screamed in horror. Various complaints could be heard.

"I can't log out!"

"What were those green things!?"

"Why can't I fly, too!?"

"Pretty Good...", said Swan, "You forced me into using what I could only use once."

Mastah Pimp said, "Moira, now."

"Yes, master."

. . .

"All right!", exclaimed Tiffany, "Finally off of the expressway!" they drove up an exit ramp.

"Okay. Say, Jack, you said that the subjects of project 'Duck' played World III?", inquired Danny.

"Yeah. I only have their character names, though.", said Jack, "According to my info, the two of them deal Aromatic Grass on the Kite Server."

"The Kite server?!", exclaimed both Danny and Tiffany, "Crap."

"That place is full of elitists.", complained Tiffany.

"Yeah. It's like they spend all of their time trying to max-out their numbers. They go around calling others noobs, and those guys are the worst griefers ever known!", complained Danny.

"I don't wanna go, either.", said Jack, "But, they might have some clues."

"He's got a point.", said Tiffany. "Almost there. Let's find a place to park."

. . .

Swan appeared in front of Mastah Pimp, and hit him with the handle of his blade. 45. He then spun around, and slashed Mastah Pimp in the back. PROTECT BREAK. The purple pimp began to tumble to the ground.

Swan's arm began to shine. He lifted his arm into the air. "Behold, my ultimate power!", he laughed, "DATA DRAIN: GENOCIDE!" A thin beam shot from the sky above to Swan's raised arm. A massive shockwave erupted from that point, and time seemed to stand still. In the blink of an eye, every player character, NPC, and object burst with an intense light. An explosion filled the root town, and floating right in the center of it was Swan. A mad cackling could be heard.

. . .

Jack, Tiffany, and Danny made their way to the booths at the far end of the cyber café. Tiffany glanced into one of the booths and saw a woman slumped over her keyboard. Her VR goggles had fallen off. She turned to look at Jack, looking somewhat bewildered.

"I know. Keep going.", whispered Jack.

They all sat down, and logged in.


	26. n00b

Chapter 26 N00B

. . .

"You were always so stubborn, but I loved you anyway. There were times that you've made me so mad. I could never stay mad at you for long. I remember our first argument. It was shortly before you were shipped off to war. We were sitting by a river, and you looked downstream. There was a waterfowl on the river in the distance, and you said, 'Look. There's a swan.' It was too far away to see accurately, but I thought it was a goose. We sat there arguing about it for a good twenty minutes. When it seemed that we were both in agreement that it was a goose, you said, under your breath, 'It's a swan'. Isn't it strange how prophetic life can be?"

. . .

Wurzelstadt. The sky has gone dark. The streets, empty. The buildings, a collection of wireframe, raw code, and/or unshaded polygons. Bits and pieces of code float through the air like fireflies on a warm summer night. The ground, charred and broken. From the Chaos Gate flashed three lights.

"...The hell happened here?", said Stan as he stepped forward, and looked around.

"Looks like the whole place has been wasted.", commented Deacon Blue.

"In the sky...", pointed Naomi. A shadowy figure floated above the town.

The figure turned. "Oh, the guests have arrived!", said the gruff, eerie tone, "Welcome to my party. We have fun and games..."

"Er, yeah... Your games suck!", yelled Stan.

Swan laughed. "Well, you are entitled to your opinion.", Swan said, "Oh yes... Deacon Blue, about those character names. You know, the 'Ducks'."

"What about them?", shot Deacon.

"I'll give you a little hint. They're false.", said the white-haired man. The air rippled behind Swan, and a portal formed. "Goose!", shouted Swan as he disappeared.

An echo sounded, "You can't beat me without the 'Ducks'. It's time for me to go now. Have fun. For I have exhausted all of the fun here."

"Damn.", said Deacon Blue, "Okay. To the Kite server."

. . .

Minnescotia: The root town of the Kite server. Snow gently falls to the white-covered ground. Players trudge from wooden cabin to wooden cabin; purchasing supplies, and generally socializing. From the southern Chaos Gate emerged Stan, Deacon Blue, and Naomi.

"Okay. We're here.", said Naomi, "The names are a fake, so what are we gonna do?"

"How do we find these 'Ducks' if we have nothing to go on?", said Stan, "We don't have real names, do we?"

"Nope.", said Deacon Blue, "Only Mastah Pimp could get the real name of Swan... And, I'm guessing that he had to go through hell and back to get it. So–..."

"AROMATIC GRASS IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH!", shouted a voice it had a slight Irish accent, "The electric currents yer goggles emit when using it screw up yer ears!" A man bound in many clothes hobbled towards them, leaning slightly on his spear. He was a long arm with matted brown hair and one yellow eye. His other eye seemed to have been put out, and he seemed to have edited his character to have a permanent two-day stubble.

"Hello...?", said Deacon.

"DID ye know," began the man, "this should really be called World FOUR!?"

"Um, Interesting...", said Deacon.

"Young man, that be quite an appealing weapon ye carry on yer back. Mind if I take a look? Just hold it where I can see it...", requested the Man. Deacon Blue complied. The man looked closely at the weapon. "Oh, yes, yes...", said the man as he examined the hilt, "If I'm not mistaken, this is The Peacemaker Mark V?"

"Yeah..."

"There was only one of these made. Ever.", said the man as he began to wave his finger at the weapon, "'Tis a pleasure to meet ye, Deacon Blue, I'm Vino de Ermitaño." Vino's gaze averted to the goggles on Naomi's head, then to the spear tucked under Stan's arms. "I see...", began Vino, "The Groovers are back, are ye?"

_Something seems kinda familiar about this guy._, thought Tiffany.

"I overheard.", said Vino, "Yer looking for ducks."

"What would you know about 'Ducks'?", asked Deacon Blue.

"Not much.", replied de Ermitaño, "But, I do know this. To find ducks, ye have to start quackin'."

Deacon Blue, Naomi, and Stan narrowed their eyes.

Vino began to laugh as he leaned in closer to Deacon Blue, "Quack, quack, quack! Har, har..." He hobbled away from them, quacking and laughing all of the way.

Naomi turned to Deacon Blue. "So, what do we do?", she asked.

"Start quackin'.", replied Deacon Blue as he walked over to where some female characters were huddled. "Quack, quack?", said Deacon Blue. The female characters looked at him in surprise for a second, then burst into all-out laughter. Deacon Blue sighed as his shoulders dropped.

"What a stupid n00b!"

"That just made my day!"

"Wait... Wait... You just have to repeat that for my friend... Let me call her..."

"Don't worry, I'll get around to her soon enough.", retorted Deacon as he walked back to Stan and Naomi.

"In spite of the replies, that's what we have to do.", he said to Naomi and Stan. "Let's split up..."

. . .

Naomi walked into the midst of a group of ten characters in a back alley. They were all smoking Aromatic Grass, and sitting on carts, sleds, boxes and barrels. "Quack, quack."

"The hell?", said one as he stopped smoking, "Girl thinks she's a freakin' duck."

Naomi looked at the Heavy Axeman defiantly as he rose from his sled and began to walk towards her. "What do you suppose we do with her, fellas?", he began to circle her.

"Let's kick her ass!"

"Yeah!"

"Death to n00bs!"

"Hold on, fellas... She's quite a fine young thing, here...", said the Axeman, "Sure, kicking her ass would be fun, but I'm sure we can find other use–"

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" Fang burst from nowhere with a leap kick, sending the Axeman flying back onto the sled upon which he was previously sitting with two of his friends. He threw a barrage of shuriken and daggers at the obviously stunned Heavy Axeman. "DOMINO BOOM!", he shouted. The Axeman and his two friends went up in an explosion. Only their ghosts remained. Fang turned to the rest of the group, and extended his fist. "Any of you other punks want some?!", he yelled, "Don't mess with my Naomi!" They all looked surprised.

Naomi's left eye began to twitch. "YOUR Naomi?!", she said angrily. She extended her arms in front of her chest, and a ball of energy began to form in her hands, "MAXIMUM FRAG!" The ball shot from her hands and knocked Fang into the distance. She stormed out of the back alley.

. . .

Stan sat on the bench next to the item shop. Two Wave Masters and a Twin Blade walked by. "Quack, quack, ladies...", said Stan. One of the Wave Masters stopped.

"Care to repeat that?"

"Eh? Quack, quack, ladies...", repeated Stan.

"I'M NOT A GIRL!!!", yelled the Wave Master, "DAMMIT! I GET THAT ALL THE TIME! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"

Stan looked at the enraged Wave Master blankly. "Quack, quack?"

"AND STOP WITH THE QUACKING!", he yelled.

"You know, you sure do yell at me like a girl...", Stan quipped.

"WHAT?!", shouted the Wave Master, "I'LL KICK YOUR ASS!"

Stan removed his unlit cigarette from his mouth, "Look, girly-man, either use a female character, or go reedit to look more manly. You're not even in my league, so don't even try to challenge me. Especially when you're mincing around with a tanking party and a level five weapon."

"Why you–!", began the Wave Master as he twirled his staff.

"Reflect pulse.", stated Stan in a mundane manner.

The Wave Master shot a beam of dark matter from his staff. Stan easily intercepted the beam with his spear and redirected it to its source. The Wave Master flew backwards, and hit a waste basket.

"Wearing lightning gears, too? Don't dish it if you can't take it, kid.", Stan put his cigarette back into his mouth. A Heavy Blade and a Blade Master walked past.

"Quack, quack, fellas.", said Stan, "It's Duck Day."

. . .

Deacon Blue walked into the Elf's Haven. There were five other players inside the cabin. "Quack, quack.", he said. Three of the players laughed at him.

Two of them turned to look at Deacon. A Heavy Axeman and a Blade Master. _It's them._, he thought.

"What'd you say?", asked the Blade Master as he turned.

"...The hell?", started the Heavy Axeman as she turned.

"Well, well...", said the Blade Master, "If it isn't the legendary n00b." The Blade Master had black hair and green eyes with a medium build. He wore a black tactical vest and baggy blue shorts that stopped mid-shin. His red cape flowed with his movement.

"Long time no see, asswipe.", quipped the Heavy Axeman. She wore large, heavy, jewel-encrusted armor that was gold in color. She had a scar that ran between her blue eyes, and ended on the base of her neck, which coincidentally is where her white hair ended as well.

"'The Thunder and Lightning Duo'.", said Deacon Blue, "Dash and Excel. I never would have guessed that you were the 'Ducks'."

Dash's eyes narrowed, "What do you know about 'Ducks'?"

"That must be a pretty slick set-up you have.", answered Deacon, "Tons of processing power, a connection speed thirty years ahead of its time, and the three dimensional acceleration must be out of this world. All of it right here." Deacon Blue tapped his finger on his forehead.

Excel clapped her hands, "All of you! OUT! NOW!" The other players left the building hastily.

"So, you know about project 'Duck'.", said Dash, "Why?"

"I only know about 'Ducks' so that I can deal with a certain 'Swan'.", replied Deacon.

"What do you want?", shot Excel

"You know what's been happening.", replied Deacon, "I want you to log out so that we can discuss what else you know."

The Blade Master drew his blade. "Well, if you want us to log out, you'll have to make us log out.", he chuckled.

"Fine. Let's take this outside.", replied Deacon Blue.

. . .

Deacon assumed a fighting stance in front of the giant snowman in the middle of the town square. Across the town square stood Dash and Excel.

"I still haven't forgotten about what happened on Delta Server.", said Deacon Blue

"Hmph. You know the PvP rules, right, n00b?", shouted Dash as he reached into his pocket and retrieved a coin. "This is the PvP coin. Once it hits the ground we can begin."

"I know the–." began Deacon as the coin was flipped into the air.

#puf#

#CLANG!# Deacon blocked a horizontal slash from Excel. "Now, now...", said Deacon, "Just wait a sec. There's always time for music..."

. . .

Jack reached into his pocket, and retrieved a small disk. He inserted it into the drive on the computer.

. . .

Deacon Blue pushed Excel backwards with a quick, easy motion. "Now we can start."


	27. Dance

Chapter 27 Dance

. . .

"You never took me dancing. Ever. I do remember the only time we've ever danced. It was the wedding reception. Both of our families were there. I remember it, mainly, because it made me laugh. The band was supposed to play a song for a slow dance, but instead they played the Jitterbug. It made me laugh because we were standing there, waiting for a waltz, holding each other, but brass instruments began to blare, and you started swinging me about. Don't think I didn't discover your little secret, though. Yes, I know. You paid the band extra money to do that. Much to my surprise, you were an excellent dancer. Why didn't you take me dancing?"

. . .

Salsa music blared from Deacon Blue's person. A vibrant piano set the rhythm alongside the lively drum beats.

Deacon Blue rushed forwards. The trumpets flared. Excel brought her axe down in an overhand fashion. Deacon Blue dodged to the side, and body checked Excel. 200. The guitars began to lead. Deacon spun and slashed Excel. 1248. Deacon turned his head to see Dash running towards him.

The brass burst in, and Dash jumped in, blade reared to strike. Deacon Blue jumped backwards to evade Dash's attack. Excel rushed Deacon Blue with a body check. 150. Excel brought her Axe around. Deacon Blue hopped backwards to avoid it. The chorus began. Dash stepped in with a flurry of attacks which Deacon blocked and dodged. Deacon Blue tossed his sword into the air, and jumped up after it. Excel hoping to attack him from behind brought down her axe, which Dash narrowly avoided by stepping to the side. Deacon's palms glowed with a bright light. "Hypersonic Blaster!", shouted Deacon Blue as he extended one of his palms towards Dash. A beam of intense light shot from his palm and went through Dash. 1113. He extended his other palm, "Same for you!" Excel dodged, and disappeared. A trumpet solo with a staccato rhythm erupted. Deacon Blue landed on the giant Snowman's top hat, caught his sword, and blocked Excel's assault. Excel pushed Deacon back, and rushed Deacon with a heavy overhand attack. Deacon hopped to the side, and slashed Excel; knocking her off of the Snowman's hat. 967. #Bang!# She landed in a heap next to Dash.

Dash began to chuckle, "Pretty good. Congratulations. You've now graduated from 'n00b' to 'scrub'."

The salsa music began to fade.

"Now?", asked Excel as she picked herself off of the snowy ground.

"Now.", replied Dash.

The two of them collided fists, and began to do so again and again, in rapid succession. "Come Forth...", they began.

_I've done it now..._, thought Deacon Blue.

. . .

Naomi walked out of the Grunty Stables. "Holy crap.", she said as she looked towards the town square.

An ape and a turtle towered over the giant snowman.

_Why do I have the feeling that someone has found the 'Ducks'?_, she thought as she began running to the town's center.

. . .

Stan stepped out of the weapon shop, and saw the large animals in town square. "That doesn't look good...", he said as he began to run to the town's square.

. . .

Deacon Blue found himself staring at a pair of giant animals. One of them, an ape with white hair, and dark skin. The other, a turtle with a shell decorated in weird symbols. By now, a small crowd had formed below.

"Ready?!", shouted Dash as he retrieved a scroll from his pocket.

"You bet!", replied Excel she grabbed a scroll.

"FUSE!", they both yelled.

The air around the two summons began to swirl into an all-out tornado. When the winds subsided, there was a single figure. It was the ape, but he was wearing parts of the turtle like an armor. Deacon's attention quickly focused to its fists which seemed to be the turtle's claws being used like knuckle weapons.

The lumbering beast picked Dash and Excel up, and sat them upon its shoulders. "Yes?", its deep, resonant voice inquired.

"Kill him.", commanded Excel.

"Will do, boss!", replied the beast as it tipped its hat (which was shaped like the turtle's head).

_If my guess is correct, one hit from that thing, and I'm a goner..._, thought Deacon. He ran to the opposite side of the snowman's hat, and jumped off. The big ape lunged forwards, and punched the snowman in the face, destroying it. Bits and pieces of the snowman flew from the point of impact, and landed all over town. Deacon Blue bolted into an alley.

"It's been a long time...", he muttered as he used and Emperor's Soul to replenish his SP. "Okay, Wonder Wolf, time to shine!" He put his weapon onto his back, and thrust both hands onto the ground. Light shot from the ground around him. A multitude of strings burst in, and a new song had begun.

From nowhere, a huge wolf, a little taller than an elephant, skidded in front of Deacon blue, and jumped on top of a nearby roof. Its white fur emanated a warm light, its majestic, bushy tail wagged, and it's bright, blue eyes looked at Deacon Blue seemingly awaiting orders. Deacon Blue smiled as the saxophones began to play, "Hey, boy. You miss me?"

Wonder Wolf released a howl. "Don't you know it.", replied the wolf. Deacon Blue jumped onto Wonder Wolf's back, and stood there, arms crossed.

"This guy looks tough.", said the wolf as he saw the large, armored ape slowly plodding towards him. The melody began.

"Let's show them what we can do!", shouted Deacon, "Wonder Wolf, Guardian of Peace, CHARGE!" The large wolf hopped over a building, and into the town square.

"... The heck is that?!"

"COOL!"

"WHOA! I want one too!", shouted onlookers.

"WHAT?!", shouted Dash.

"Whatever that thing is, it can't be legal!", complained Excel.

"Oh, it is!", shouted Deacon Blue.

The wolf approached the large ape, and the ape threw a punch. Wonder Wolf hopped to the side to avoid it. The ape's claw was stuck in the ground.

"Wonder Wolf, get Excel!", commanded Deacon Blue. The wolf ran up the ape's occupied arm, grabbed Excel with its mouth, and jumped off of the ape's shoulder, landing behind it. Wonder Wolf proceeded to wildly shake his head with Excel in his mouth. Red numbers were flying every which way. He then tossed Excel into the air, and swallowed her whole. #Cough, cough... Ptew# Wonder Wolf spat out Excel's ghost. The ape's armor disappeared. The monkey turned around. A piano solo started.

"Wonder Wolf, close the gap!", shot Deacon Blue. The wolf ran towards the ape.

"FIRE!", shouted Dash. The ape began to hurl energy orbs from its palms, but the wolf dodged each one as he rushed the giant ape. When Wonder Wolf got close to the ape, the ape threw a punch. The wolf dodged to the side. The ape threw another punch, and the wolf hopped onto a cabin. The refrain started. The ape threw a hook that was aimed at Deacon Blue, but Deacon ducked it, narrowly. "Let's end this!", shouted Deacon Blue. Wonder Wolf hopped backwards onto another cabin, and opened its mouth. Multi-colored orbs of light began to gather to form a large white ball of light in front of the wolf's open mouth. "NOW!", shouted Deacon Blue. A deafening howl could be heard throughout the town as the white, energy-filled orb shot through the air, and found Dash. A bright explosion illuminated the area. ELEMENTAL HIT. ELEMENTAL HIT. ELEMENTAL HIT. DEATH. Dash fell off of the monkey as it began to fade into nothingness. "Why?", he asked, weakly.

"Wonder Wolf attacks with every element, and includes a 'Death' effect.", explained Deacon, "That's why there's only one Peacemaker Mark V."

"Congrats, Deacon.", said Dash as his ghost hit the snow, and vanished.

Naomi and Stan arrived in the town square. Deacon, still standing on Wonder Wolf's back, looked down, and said, "You're just in time. We can log out, now."

Naomi and Stan looked at what remained of Minescotia's town square. The giant snowman had been destroyed, there were large craters in the ground, and the cabins' roofs were bent in the middle. "What the hell happened here?!", shouted Stan.

"Nothing much," said Deacon Blue, "just a minor scuffle." Deacon Blue hopped off of the wondrous wolf, and it disappeared. "The GM's will fix this in a few minutes." The music stopped.

They all walked to the Chaos Gate as the bits and pieces of snowman began to assemble towards the center.


	28. Truth

Chapter 28 Truth

. . .

"I just wish I could have done something. The more I think about it, the more I'm certain that none of this had to happen. When you got back, it was like one calamity after another. First, you broke that news to me. Then, this project came up, and it looked like it would solve all of our problems. Well, to you, at least. I told you not to join that project, but you did it anyway. You were so adamant about it, it almost seemed as though you were forced into it, or something. Things were looking up at first, but then, it happened. The Deadly Flash. The scientists all said that shouldn't have happened. The 'Ducks' and 'Goose' were unaffected. So, the question becomes 'why did it happen?'"

. . .

JackSprat: start from the beginning.

591NDash: we were in the same unit as Saint.

Excellence: he was the "black sheep" in the unit.

591NDash: Yeah. Everyone else in the unit was like family. Except him. He didn't seem to care about what happened to the others, or even about following orders.

Excellence: all he cared about was getting the hell out of there.

Excellence: One night, he sneaked out of camp Me and Dash followed him.

591NDash: That's when we were ambushed. I was lucky. I only caught a piece of shrapnel in my butt. Excel was shot multiple times.

Excellence: But, Saint...

591NDash: Due to the injuries he sustained, he was unable to have kids. We were able to fight off the attackers, but I'll never forget what I saw. Looked painful

Excellence: Poor guy was shouting "Dash, Excel! It hurts! It hurts like hell!"

SexyTiff2509: Why was he calling you guys by your player names?

591NDash: Oh, we actually used our callsigns as our player names.

Excellence: Ahem!

591NDash: Well, long story short, our injuries got us off of active duty.

Excellence: Unfortunately, at the time, they were looking for "volunteers" for some projects.

591NDash: Turns out, that fateful night we were injured, Saint was going AWOL. Since we followed him, they decided that we had gone AWOL too.

Excellence: So, rather than go to jail, we "volunteered".

JackSprat: Blackmail?

591NDash: is an understatement.

591NDash: The projects were code-named after waterfowl.

STANspark: I've been wondering why that is.

Excellence: Waterfowl are adept in two elements, water, and the air

JackSprat: So, your two elements became the real world, and the internet.

591NDash: Well, yes. But, Goose was to be adept in two completely different elements.

Excellence: Life and Death. If only for a short while.

SexyTiff2509: So, what about Swan?

591NDash: I was getting to that. Swans are beautiful creatures. They swim beautifully, and they fly with great grace.

591NDash: This was part of the concept. What all They do, they do it all well. Full spectrum birds, if you will.

591NDash: What better code for what would theoretically be the ultimate full spectrum warriors?

JackSprat: I see... So, what happened?

591NDash: Well, not long afterwards, the Deadly Flash hit.

Excellence: We were okay, for some odd reason, but Saint... He fell into a coma.

591NDash: We started beta testing Fragment, and much to our surprise, there was a player character named Swan, so we partied up with him.

Excellence: Fragment became "The World", and a whole mess of incidents happened there.

591NDash: Yeah, but he was always missing during the constant server resets.

Excellence: before he started playing on some Pirate server, he had become interested in some kind of poem.

STANspark: The Epitapfh of Twilight?

Excellence: Er... Yeah.

591NDash: He disappeared to some private server not long after the last reset.

JackSprat: So, how do we beat him?

591NDash: Beat him?

SexyTiff2509: He's killing people...

591NDash: And?

Excellence: It's not our problem.

STANspark: WHAT?!

JackSprat: How is that? If he goes on another spree, your butts are lightly toasted.

Excellence: He couldn't Data Drain us when we ran into him a couple of months ago, so we're safe.

JackSprat: Well, that was a couple of months ago. He's somehow modified the ability. HE CAN GET ANYONE.

591NDash: Pfft. Yeah, right.

STANspark: You're welcom to go to wherever he haunts nowadays and find out. Hope you have good funeral coverage.

591NDash: You're bluffing.

SexyTiff2509: Try us.

Excellence: ==

Excellence: Fine. I'll tell you what I do know. Our hacker was able to get this info before he mysteriously disappeared.

Excellence: Swan has 10000 HP. Knock that down, and he's out of the game.

591NDash: No one's ever done that.

591NDash: Ever.

. . .

A woman looks into one of the booths, and screams.

. . .

JackSprat: Uh-oh. From the sounds of things, we gtg.

SexyTiff2509: Later.

STANspark: Thanks...

. . .

Tiffany got out of her seat, and tiptoed to the edge of her booth.

Jack, peering over the top of the booth, whispered, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Getting out of here.", replied Tiffany.

"You'll get spotted immediately if you try to sneak out like that.", whispered Jack.

Danny walked into Jack's booth. "He's right...", Danny mentioned.

Tiffany looked at them, and asked, "Well, what do we do? We have to get out of here now!"

"No need.", said Jack, "We'll just leave when they start evacuating the building."

A woman stood in the middle of the cyber café, "Everyone may I have your attention please. For your safety, we will have to close now. Please file out of the front door. Thank you."

Everyone began to walk out.

. . .

Tiffany stopped in front of a hotel, and Jack and Danny got out. Jack looked over at Danny, and said, "You have reservations here, too?"

"Huh? No. I just show up. Around this time of year, there aren't many tourists, so I can get a room just about anywhere...", replied Danny.

"I see..."

"I'll come by tomorrow.", said Tiffany.

"Er...", Jack reached into his pocket, and retrieved some cash. "Here. For the gas used. From both of us. Thank you."

"Huh?", replied Tiffany, "It's a favor for friends. It's no problem, really."

"You sure?", asked Danny.

"Yeah.", answered Tiffany, "Besides, our friend Danny is going to rent a car tomorrow." She smiled.

"The engine murmurs, right?", asked Jack.

"Yeah. That's why I don't use it often.", replied Tiffany, "It could break down at any time, really."

"Drive safely.", said Danny.

"I will.", Tiffany pulled off. "Bye."

"See you tomorrow."

"Bye."

Jack and Danny walked into the hotel. "So, what movie have you been working on, lately.", asked Jack.


	29. Disaster

Chapter 29 Disaster

. . .

"Ever since, I've been reading some strange anonymous e-mails. They were love letters. At the time, I wasn't sure, but now I know. It was you, wasn't it? Still romantic in a state of unconsciousness. Now that I know it's you, I really wish that I hadn't fired my assistant."

. . .

8 a.m. Jack lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling. _So, that's how it works_, he thought, _I can't believe I didn't notice it at first. So, the sword isn't necessarily an offensive weapon as much as it is a preparatory weapon. As long as he doesn't get hit, all it does is Protect Break targets. Wow. And, what's with that "Genocide" attack. According to the local news, it took out at least ten thousand people, nation-wide. Mastah Pimp thinks he's clever. That pitiful disguise didn't fool me. Who'd have guessed that he was a hardcore RP'er. Well, that, and I guess he's trying to escape prosecution._ Jack reached over to the night stand, and pressed a button on the remote. The television screen came to life.

"... And, there's a .001% chance of snow today. That was the weather, now back to the Today Show."

"Good morning, and welcome back to the Today Show. I'm Lacy Hines.

And, I'm John St. John.

At approximately seven o'clock this morning, an estimated one million players of World III died inexplicably. And, the numbers are still coming in. CC Corp closed the World III making it inaccessible to non-employees. Things do not look good for Cyber Connect since they claimed that the deaths that occurred during their special event just days ago was an "unexpected equipment malfunction" in front of a Grand Jury, just yesterday. The head of CC Corp, this morning, claimed that something within the game, outside of the scope of their knowledge, is causing this calamity. With us now, is Jackson Height from Electronic Gaming Weekly..."

_What the hell?!_

. . .

7:30 a.m. Tiffany lie in bed, sleeping. #RING, RING!# The phone rang. "Huh?", said Tiffany as she rolled over in the bed, and fell off of the edge. She stumbled over to where the phone was, and picked it up. "#Yawn# Hello?"

"Tiffany! Oh my god, It's... It's...", blurted a panicked voice on the phone.

"Mom?"

"It's Orpah! She's slumped in front of the keyboard, and she... She won't respond!"

"WHAT?!"

"I don't know what happened... Her computer is still on. What's going on?!"

_Her computer is still on?_

"Mom, is she still breathing?!"

"Hold on, I'll check!"

Three seconds passed.

"YES! She's still breathing!", shouted the panicked voice.

_Good. She's not dead._

"Good. Everything will be fine. Call an ambulance."

"They're already on the way."

"Call me, and tell me what hospital they're taking her to."

"Okay."

"Bye."

Tiffany hung up the phone.

"#Chime, Chime# You have new mail!"

"Yo.

There isn't much time left. I've got your sister's consciousness. Didn't know that I had preserved the original functions of Data Drain as well, did you? I can crush it at any time, but I'm deciding not to do so... This is small potatoes compared to my much bigger plan. You'll find out what that is soon enough.

Swan."

"Damn!", shouted Tiffany as she pounded her palm onto her desk.

She hurriedly put on a denim skirt, threw on her coat, and rushed out of the door.

. . .

"Hey, Jack, #knock, knock, knock#, this is Danny, open up, willya?", shouted Danny as he knocked on the door to Jack's room. "I just finished renting the car."

Jack swung the door open. He was wearing khakis and a black turtle-neck. He had shaved as well. "Danny, there's trou–!", Jack paused, and looked at the woman standing next to Danny, "Who's this?"

"Hi, I'm Shelly.", said the woman as she extended her hand for Jack to shake.

Jack squinted as he shook her hand. "Wait a second... You're Shelly Freid! International super model, Shelly Freid." Jack looked over at Danny. "What is she doing here?"

Danny rolled his eyes.

Jack leaned towards Danny, and whispered, "I see..."

"Anyhow, you were saying?", said Danny.

Jack grabbed his backpack and jacket, and stepped out of the door. "Trouble. Didn't you see the news?" They all began to walk towards the elevator.

"Er... Nope."

"About one million people, worldwide, dead."

"What?"

"It's Swan. It's definitely Swan."

"Pardon?", said Shelly, "What is this 'Swan'?"

"A digital Hannibal Lechter.", replied Danny.

They all got onto the elevator.

"You play World III?", asked Jack.

"No... Not much...", replied Shelly.

"Her character has never gone beyond level 10.", said Danny.

"I see... Danny, remember what we talked about on IM last night?"

"Yeah. Scary as all hell. What the #$%& was up with that 'Genocide' attack?"

"I dunno."

"That rat-bastard got Mastah Pimp, too..."

"No he didn't."

"Huh?"

"Vino."

"You mean...?"

"I received an e-mail from him last night, and this morning. I blew his cover last night, and he admitted it this morning. I also got –."

The elevator doors opened. In front of them stood Tiffany, hands on her knees, and winded.

"What happened to you?", asked Jack.

"We've gotta shut that rat-bastard down!", shot Tiffany. She looked up to see a woman standing beside Danny. "Who's that?"

The woman stepped forwards, and extended her hand for Tiffany to shake, "Hi, I'm Shelly Freid."

"Tiffany Izen.", Tiffany shook the woman's hand. She looked at Danny. "Danny, did you rent the car?"

"Uh, yes."

"Good. Let's go."

"What happened, Tiffany?", asked Jack.

"I'll explain in the car." They all began to walk to the hotel entrance.

"Where are we going?", asked Shelly.

"We're going to the Scramble Arcade."

"Isn't that place a crime scene?", inquired Danny.

"Now, only the new wing. Everything else will open tomorrow."

"You're planning to sneak into the new wing, aren't you?", asked Jack.

Tiffany stopped, turned around, and stared at Jack. "Yes."

"Well, you're going to have a heck of a time logging in, Tiff.", replied Jack, "They've restricted access. Mastah Pimp couldn't even hack his way in."

"Mastah Pimp? Isn't he dead?"

"Vino."

"Oh yeah...", said Tiffany, "Danny, go get the car."

"Aye, aye." Danny ran to the parking garage.

"Er...", began Jack, "Why are we still going if access is restricted?"

Tiffany looked at Jack. "You know something, don't you?", she said, "Spit it out!" She walked over to Jack, and grabbed the collar of his jacket.

"I won't tell you anything until you've calmed down.", said Jack, calmly, "I've seen you like this before... Or, rather, I've seen your character like this before. The Goggle event. So, let's say I do know something, eh. If I tell you, then what?" Tiffany still holding Jack by the collar looked away. Jack continued, "You'd go in without a plan, and get yourself killed. You saw what he did last night on the IM, didn't you?" She let go of his collar.

"Yes."

Danny pulled up in a dark-green, American made sedan. "Hop in.", shouted Danny.

The three piled into the car.

. . .

"So that's it.", said Jack, "I can see why you're upset. I'd be upset as well."

"Yeah.", replied Tiffany, "What are we gonna do?"

"Remember Nash?", inquired Jack.

"That weirdo who helped you bust me out of bannination all of those times?", asked Danny.

"Did I ever tell you guys what he does for a living?", Jack continued, "He's a graphic designer for World III. He currently works in the Cyber Connect Offices of Chicago. I got an e-mail from him last night. He can get us in. We won't even have to break the law by sneaking into a crime scene."

"That's great, but we'll still have to go to Scramble.", replied Tiffany.

"Why?", asked Danny, "This gas is costing me!"

"To pick up a reinforcement.", said Tiffany. She looked slightly disturbed.

"Um, excuse me?", began Shelly, "Why am I here?"

Danny stopped the car at a red light. They all looked at each other.

. . .

Danny pulled into the Scramble Arcade's empty parking lot. Sitting against the wall, holding a skateboard, and eating a nutrition bar was a thin figure in black pants, and a heavy black jacket. He had spiky black hair, and deep, dark eyes. He was the twenty-something who shouted "owned" when Tiffany's coworker died. He sprang from the ground, and jogged to the car. When he tried to open the passenger side rear door (where Tiffany was sitting), the door was locked. He went to the other side, and got into the car. He squinted at Shelly, who was sitting between him and Tiffany.

Jack asked, "Er, Tiff, who is this guy?"

"This is Ian VanLeigh. He's the player of the character Fang.", answered Tiffany.

"Oh. Your stalker.", said Danny.

Ian was still squinting at Shelly. "Who is this?"

Danny replied as he began to drive off, "That's Shelly Freid." Shelly extended her hand for Ian to shake.

"The international super model?", Ian said as he shook her hand, "Nice to meet you."

"Thank you.", replied Freid.

"Now, move aside. I want to sit next to Tiffany."

_I think I might really hate this guy._, thought Jack.

_What an #$%&#$%._, thought Danny.

Shelly began to comply when Tiffany's hand grabbed her thigh, and sat her back down. She angrily stared at Shelly, and said through bared teeth, "If you move, I will kill you."


End file.
